Duel Masters: The six books of Who
by acumashindorballomu
Summary: Picking up from the ending of Rise of the chosen duelists, a bored Subaru meets up with a strange alien creature that calls himself the Doctor who is in search for a new assistant. Meanwhile Tabitha Lenox escapes from prison wishing to find out more about the strange Doctor and intending to unleash chaos once again. What wacky adventures await our heroes next? Read to find out!
1. I am the Doctor

_Subaru(walking in a dark room): Oh hi there, my name is Subaru Geki. I don't really know why you came all the way here to listen to me since I am most certain that you already have something better planned in your highly busy schedule. But oh well, if you chose to give me attention then I guess I will try to make it worthwhile…_

_Edo(busting in): Hey Suby, tell them all about how we met the Doctor!_

_Subaru: Are you crazy, Edo-kun?! Nobody would like to hear that boring tale! Oh by the way, this is Edo Kanda, my best friend. (gesticulates)_

_Doctor(enters the room as well): Boys, just what exactly is going on here? Are you secretly trying to recreate those inappropriate scenes from your green haired friend's mangas? _

_Subaru(sighing in annoyance): How did I get into all of this? Oh yeah, it all happened when…_

* * *

It was yet another rainy mid September day in a certain city from a certain prosperous country. The once great metropolis was now recovering from the damages that its previous war had inflicted upon. The humans were trying their best to repair their damaged futuristic buildings using their construction robots. A legend once spoke that man tried his best to reach the Heavens but his Creator punished him by destroying the tower he had built. Little did the Creator know that man was a stubborn being and once struck he would try again and again to reach his goals. That was exactly what was going on in that city.

At its outskirts an unidentified flying object, commonly known as a UFO that was shaped like a saucer was sitting parked near the city's beach. Its walls were beginning to gain rust marks as a sign of its usage. Throughout three years the ship had to fly throughout the whole planet going through many battles and suffering damages. How it still managed to stay functional was a miracle of man's knowledge of science from that time.

Obviously one would wonder what kind of inhabitants would subject it to such hardships. Were they some evil aliens coming from another world to invade the green planet? Or were they just a bunch of normal humans with bad driving skills? Out of the two options the latter was more likely.

The truth was that its inhabitants had also gone through many hardships just like their precious UFO. They were five young teenagers carrying the heavy burden of keeping their home world safe. Safe from what exactly? What could a group of young teenagers possibly do to save the world? The answer lied in two simple words that described a popular card game: Duel Masters.

Through the power of the game's cards humans were able to summon creatures from another world and use them to fight, to duel, against an opponent. That was what that group had done for the course of three years while they inhabited the UFO. And so time passed, people came and left, evil rose and fell, their victories were either sweet or bitter, but one thing always remained the same for them: their unity. And while their only master and the source of their power, the gem known as the Proof of Duelmaster, was no longer with them, the core of the team composed of its two oldest members and one of their best friends still remained unshaken.

As a sign of relief for them, not anyone was able to summon creatures anymore. With the Proof gone no human was able to bring out creatures in what was called a kaijudo duel unless they owned a Victory card. A Victory card was like any other card with the exception that it had a V symbol on its upper or lower half. And into these cards the Proof chose to leave its power. Thus a duelist who owned a Victory card was still considered what was known as a kaijudo duelist.

The quintet of teens was also known as the chosen duelists. They had been chosen by the Proof to protect the world using its powers. The reason there were only five chosen duelists was because there were only five civilizations and each had to represent one. As for the civilizations themselves, those were the following: Fire, Water, Nature, Light and Darkness. Together they formed a complete whole. And the same was with the five teens up until a certain point. When the Proof disappeared and dispersed its power into the Victory cards, not only were they told that they were no longer chosen but they also saw how other humans received their master's final gift. Thus the ones that had bigger dreams chose to follow them while the others that had their dreams already accomplished chose to stay and live together. And this is where our story begins…

Subaru scratched his rich black hair that touched his shoulders and was shaped like a mane. Then he yawned and rubbed his brown eyes. Afterwards he pushed his head against his right fist as he lay down on the living room's cozy watching a brown haired boy play a video game wildly.

"Suby, you should come down here and try this game as well!" the brown haired insisted.

"No thanks, Edo-kun, I'm not in the mood right now. I'd rather sit here and watch you play." the black haired passively replied to his friend named Edo.

"Hmph fine, suit yourself, lazy cat."

Subaru suddenly stretched all of his limbs and gave a small cry of laziness.

"Man, is there nothing interesting to do here anymore?!" he complained.

"Well you could always join me here." Edo suggested.

"No Edo-kun, I've been playing video games and reading books and surfing the internet and going to the mall and all that other stuff for almost two months now! It's becoming rather tiresome at this point. Isn't there anything else that we can do?"

"I don't know Suby, this is pretty much all we can do here."

"I'm sick and tired of it, Edo-kun! We were once the chosen duelists; we went on great adventures and stopped the likes of Rezo, Tabitha, Kaizer and Tigra. Even though it was dangerous, it kept us busy and it also gave us a nice thrilling sensation. And while we did receive the peace that we had longed for, I never expected it to become this boring!"

"Yeah, yeah, as you say. It's under the right shelf." an obviously inattentive Edo responded to his friend's lament while still playing the video game.

Subaru sighed and gently slapped his own face. As usual clueless Edo was not paying attention and his mind was swapped in another childish activity. Realizing that he could not confess his suffering to him he got up and walked out of the living room. The black haired male put his hands into the pockets of his dark blue jeans and he wandered down the corridors of the UFO while looking at the windows admiring the autumnal rain from outside.

At the kitchen an angelic girl whose head was decorated with a beautiful long blonde mane that seemed like gold, who was dressed up in a long red dress and with a pink apron covering her front was watching TV while waiting for the food maker to finish cooking supper.

"Tsugumi, do you have two seconds?" Subaru asked the girl while entering the kitchen.

"Sure!" the blonde female turned to him and looked at him with her crystal blue eyes in whose sight he got lost immediately. "What's the matter, my love? You seem rather sad today."

"I just don't know what to do anymore…"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that I'm getting really bored here, Tsugumi. I'm sick and tired of the usual daily routine that we've been having for almost two months now. I want something exciting to happen, a new adventure, anything!"

"I understand your pain, Subaru, I really do. If you want, I could try and book us some tickets for a hot spring trip. How about that?"

"I don't know, I wouldn't want to interrupt your own schedule."

"Oh don't worry; if it's for you I'd do anything. So what do you say, three tickets?"

"Hm… make it four. I'm sure that Blane will be stalking us so I'd rather have him come with us instead." Subaru suggested.

"Alright! Once the show finishes I will get onto it!" Tsugumi said and then she took a quick glance at the food maker to see that it still had half an hour left and afterwards she turned her head to the TV and resumed watching her soap opera.

Subaru leaned and gave the girl a quick kiss on the back of her head. Once again he walked out and found himself all alone wandering the corridors of the spaceship. Having nothing better to do he decided to go outside in the rain and admire the beauty of nature's cry. The sound of the raindrops touching the steel roof of the UFO was like music to his ears. Subaru opened the main door of the UFO and stepped outside letting the water fall on his face, black mane and short sleeved black T shirt with the symbol of the Darkness civilization.

"So refreshing…" he whispered while a small smile appeared on his face. "If only every autumn day was like this."

"Is something the matter, master?" a beast's voice resounded.

In the next moment the small hologram of a demonic bipedal lion that had four arms holding two sharp blue swords and one white cross shaped staff and whose head had a majestic blue mane and two orange horns positioned like a V on its forehead appeared on his shoulder.

"Oh it's nothing, Raion." Subaru responded to his avatar which was better known as Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger.

"It can't be nothing because when you are this gloomy something is definitely wrong with you, master." Raion insisted.

"Let's just say that I miss the good old days of exciting adventures and duels. But if those days are long gone, then I fear we might have to find a new purpose."

"Maybe they are not gone just yet, look!"

Raion pointed with one of its swords at the rainy sky in which they saw a shining bright light that seemed like a star. Whatever it was, it was coming on their way for the shining star was in a fall. The demonic lion disappeared while Subaru quickly ran back inside the UFO and expected the worse. Suddenly he heard a crash. When he looked outside he saw an object crashed on the beach. Gathering his courage he walked out of his spaceship and approached it. Even though it was raining, a few of the sun's rays made their way out of the thick black clouds and lighted the mysterious object.

When he took a better look he saw that it was a dark blue police box with an unlighted lamp on its top and with the words POLICE BOX and PUBLIC CALL written above its doors.

"That's strange. Why would a police box fall from the sky right here?" Subaru asked and then he noticed a large sticker on its left door which he read. "Police telephone, free for use of public, advice & assistance obtainable immediately, officer & cars respond to calls, pull to open."

Shrugging his shoulders Subaru pulled the right door which opened and then he walked inside. What he saw in there amazed him like nothing else had ever done it before. He did not walk in a normal police box for no police box was smaller on the outside and way bigger on the inside. Also no normal police box looked on the inside like a UFO rip off from sci-fi movies. There were many metallic pathways and all lead to the same place which seemed to be its center. There was a glass platform that had a hexagonal machine which seemed like the ship's control device with a cylinder coming out of it and connecting with the ceiling.

"Amazing!" Subaru gasped as he walked up the metallic footsteps to the machine. "Just what is this thing?"

"This? It's the TARDIS." a young British man's voice resounded.

"Who said that?!" the black haired teen jumped scared and turned around.

"Over here! I could use a little help you know!"

Subaru looked down and had the amazement of seeing a swimming pool underneath him. Besides that he also saw a man trying to jump out of it but with no avail. The teen laid down with his belly on the floor and stretched both of his hands downwards allowing the man to successfully jump and grab him. Then he used his full force and pulled the man up to his level.

When Subaru got a better look at him, he saw that the man had green eyes, dark brown hair that was fairly long, still not as big as his own black mane, and he wore a white shirt, black jeans, a brown collar and a red bowtie on his neck. Also his clothes were soaking wet.

"Well frankly I didn't expect any visitors to come and see me today but I'm glad someone did." the man spoke rapidly and then he offered his hand. "I am the Doctor."

"Doctor? Doctor Who?" was Subaru's first reaction which immediately brought a smile on the strange man's face.

"Just call me… the Doctor."

"Alright then? My name is Subaru Geki."

"Subaru Geki… brilliant name I daresay! Just brilliant! It has such great sonority and such a nice oriental touch. Anyway, pleased to meet you!"

The duo shook hands and while the Doctor seemed more than pleased in meeting the black haired teen, Subaru was rather surprised and a little freaked out of the stranger.

"Now that we have met I have some rules that you must follow." the Doctor said.

"Rules?" Subaru asked while raising his eyebrow.

"Yes – do everything I tell you, don't ask stupid questions, and don't wander off."

"Woah, woah, woah, stop right there pal! I don't even know you and you're already telling me what to do?"

"Well why not keep everything safe since we are aboard this great adventure?"

"Adventure?"

"Yes, you see life is one great adventure." the Doctor affirmed while walking towards a set of stairs. "But to make it all exciting you must know which path to choose."

In the next moment the Doctor accidentally walked off the platform and fell once again in the pool. Subaru sweated while he approached the edge of the platform and then he spoke to the even wetter man:

"And that certainly isn't one of them."

A few minutes later Subaru had once again helped the Doctor get out of the pool but this time they were at the lower level of the machine closer to the door from which he came inside.

"Well I guess I have to thank you for your help a second time." the Doctor suggested.

"No need to." Subaru replied. "Say, where are you from exactly?"

"Me? Well let's just say that I am not from this planet."

"So you're an alien?"

"Alien? Yes, to humans I am an alien, but to other beings in this universe I am not."

"That's just… weird."

"I know!"

The Doctor wandered off inspecting his ship and trying to look for damaged areas. Subaru followed the strange man looking at him with great interest and then he asked:

"But Doctor, where did you come from? What's up with this crazy ship of yours?"

"So many questions you're asking me and yet we don't have much time for them all." the Doctor commented while pulling out from his collar's pocket a strange metallic screwdriver with a green light shining on its top.

"What's that?" Subaru asked.

"Oh this? This is my trusty sonic screwdriver. Never leaving anywhere without it." the Doctor said while pressing a button on it and making the screwdriver extend its upper region and reveal a shiny green light and three metallic spikes.

"That's even weirder…"

"I know!"

The Doctor used the screwdriver to inspect all of the spacecraft's damages and after half an hour of walking around inside of it followed by Subaru he came to his conclusion:

"Cracked walls, malfunctioned engines, mixed circuits, and a huge hole in my stomach… Yes, it will take me a lot of time to fix all of this."

"So what are you going to do about it?" Subaru asked.

"Well I guess I will just find a way to repair these problems." the Doctor answered and then he put the screwdriver back in his collar and walked towards the exit door looking like an elegant British man from the 20th century.

"Just wait a second, Doctor!"

Subaru rushed in front of the Doctor and blocked his way to the door with a serious look on his face.

"You're a strange guy dressed like what an Englishman would have worn two hundred years ago…"

"Bowties are cool!" the Doctor intervened.

"Whatever. And on the top of all that you're acting stranger than Michael Jackson, Charlie Sheen and my best friend Edo combined!" Subaru criticized.

"I know!"

"Seriously now, who are you and what do you want?!"

"Well to put it in simple words, I am the Doctor and I have come here looking for a new assistant."

"Assistant?"

"Yes… someone that can travel around with me and help me out whenever I need them. What do you say? Would you like to help me around?"

"Geez, I don't know… I mean, it's all just weird! One moment I'm sitting there admiring the rain and next thing I know a police box lands in front of my home and a kooky guy calling himself the Doctor comes to me and asks for help!"

"I know!" the Doctor added with a fascinated smile on his face. "Isn't it just wonderful?"

"All that I wished for was to get rid of this annoying boredom." Subaru sighed. "I guess Tsugumi was right, you should be careful what you wish for."

In the next moment they both heard loud knocks on the ship's door.

"I wonder who could be bothering us at this time of the day." the Doctor commented while pushing Subaru aside and heading for the door.

When the Doctor opened the door he had the surprise of receiving a full fist in the cheek which threw him on his back. Subaru rushed to him and helped him get up.

"Doctor, are you alright?" Subaru asked with worry.

"Blimey, what a way to say hello to people…" the Doctor remarked.

In the next moment a bald fat man dressed in a large white martial arts kimono walked up to them looking all angry and asked:

"Are you the guy that parked this piece of crap on my bike?"

The man showed a small bicycle that lacked wheels and was torn in two.

"Doctor, you did that?!" Subaru asked amazed.

"Hehe, who says that I can control where the TARDIS lands?" the Doctor sweated.

"So you are the one who did it, huh?!" the angered man said while taking a small pack of forty two cards out oh his kimono's pocket which shined with a red and purple aura. "In order to defend the honor of my bike, I, the great Komusubi, challenge you to a duel!"

"A what?" the Doctor asked while looking all confused. "A duel? Just what in the world is that?"

"What? You mean you do not know how to duel? And you dare to disrespect me by not accepting my challenge?!"

The sumo looking man clenched his right fist and showed it to the Doctor. Its next target would have been his face once again if Subaru did not step in front of him and said:

"The Doctor does not know how to duel, mister Komusubi, but I Subaru Geki will gladly accept your challenge on his behalf!"

"Hah, and what chance does a puny boy like you possibly have against someone like me?" Komusubi asked while imposing his fatty belly.

"Well for one I have this!" Subaru replied while showing his deck which glowed with a bright purple aura along with his right hand. "And secondly, I can still kaijudo duel!"

"What? You mean that you have a Victory card?" the sumo man asked with his mouth shaped like an 'o'. "Interesting… Then if I win, I get your Victory card. Deal?"

"Deal."

Both of their decks shined and then much to the Doctor's amazement two metallic tables arose from the floor of the TARDIS. He had never seen his own device do that before but he deduced that it was due to the powers of their decks.

Subaru and Komusubi walked to the tables and both put their decks down. Then each searched them and took out a certain number of cards which they put on the far right of the table. Komusubi had put two while Subaru had put eight. Afterwards they both shuffled their decks and put five cards each on the area that was marked by two black lines. Then each drew five cards in their hand. Both looked at each other and shouted in unison:

"Duel start!"

In the next moment five blue rectangular shields appeared above Subaru.

"Amazing…" the Doctor mumbled.

"Hehe, you're not the only one with surprises here, Doctor." Subaru winked as he placed a card tapped in the zone behind the five cards that represented his shields. "I charge mana with Persistent Prison of Gaia and end."

The card that Subaru had placed on the table was colored like a rainbow and it depicted a blue crystal cage which was surrounded by a wave of darkness and one of fire.

"I charge mana and end." Komusubi said while placing in the same zone of his table a red card that represented a scrapper crushing a creature.

"Charging mana? What is this thing? Suzuki, care to explain this concept to me?" the Doctor asked the black haired teen.

"My name is Subaru, Doctor." he corrected him. "And in this game we have many zones – there is the shield zone which has five shields that protects you, there is the mana zone in which you must put cards in order to pay for summoning creatures, and then there is also the battle zone where you summon creatures, the graveyard where destroyed creatures go and the hyperspatial zone where… special types of creatures lie."

"I see… Very interesting…" the Doctor commented while rubbing his cheek.

"This is no time to explain rules to newcomers! Play!" Komusubi shouted at Subaru.

"Very well, I charge mana and summon Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist!"

A black haired male with brown eyes dressed in a dark blue suit with a black shirt, red tie and black cape, who was wielding a lollipop in his right hand and a rose in his left hand, appeared next to Subaru.

"Fascinating!" the Doctor exclaimed while approaching Atsuto and examining him. "How did you summon a human right here?"

"Excuse me, but could you fabulously back off from my personal space?" Atsuto asked while gently pushing the Doctor away.

"Oh yes sorry, I didn't mean to!"

"Doctor, this is my friend Atsuto. Atsuto, this is the Doctor." Subaru made the introductions.

"Doctor? Subaru, I didn't know you were sick…" Atsuto spoke surprised.

"No, not that kind of Doctor… I'll explain later, just do your thing."

Atsuto gracefully drew two cards from Subaru's deck and put them in his owner's hand. Then he selected a Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff and a Hades Death Gate which he discarded.

"Are you ladies done yet? If yes, then it is my turn! I summon Zabi Fly, the Pillager!" Komusubi said and then he put a black card on his table that depicted a purple plane with a sharp toothed mouth.

"He's a newcomer to the game?" Atsuto asked while looking at the rather amazed Doctor.

"You can say that." Subaru replied. "Anyway, my turn, I summon Super Go On Pippi!"

A bird made of fire with a pair of dark green glasses on its forehead appeared flying above Subaru and chirped happily.

"Oh hello birdie!" the Doctor waved at it.

"I summon Marauder Deis Drive!" Komusubi said while putting a rainbow colored card that depicted a black armored reptilian creature with spikes on its arms and an eyeless head that had a sharp toothed. "Since Marauder Deis Drive is a speed attacker, I now attack you with it and Zabi Fly, break his shields!"

"He is using those cards to attack you? Take cover, Honda!" the worried Doctor exclaimed.

"The name is Subaru, and no Doctor, they will just break my shields, they won't really wound me." Subaru explained and then he turned to his opponent and watched how Komusubi fired two energy waves from his cards that broke two of his shields.

The shield shards united into two cards that went into Subaru's hand and then he began his turn. The black haired boy charged mana and then he tapped all four cards in his mana zone and showed another rainbow colored card while saying:

"I cast Super Infernal Gate Smash and by its effect I destroy Marauder Deis Drive!"

All of a sudden the rainbow colored card from Komusubi's table bounced off the battle zone and landed at the right of his deck.

"You cast? What are you, a wizard?" the Doctor asked.

"A wizard? No, I just used a spell card." Subaru explained. "This game has a variety of cards ranging from creatures to spells."

"I see… Also, that place where his card went… is that the graveyard?"

"You catch up fast, Doctor."

"I summon Zabi Trash Train, Fuuma Devil!" Komusubi said and then he put a black card showing a train-like creature with two blue arms and an eyeless face that had a mouth with sharp teeth and snake tongue. "Zabi Fly, break his shield!"

Another energy wave was launched from the sumo man's table and it broke another one of Subaru's shields. However the boy took that card to his hand smiling and then he spoke to those around him with a confident voice:

"Play time is over!"

"What?" the trio composed of the Doctor, Atsuto and Komusubi asked.

"I cast… Miracle Re Born!" Subaru exclaimed while showing a black card that shined with a purple light. "With its effect I can revive a Hunter creature with cost 7 or less and I choose to revive… Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff!"

Suddenly a horned red caped purple armored knight wielding two yellow laser guns, having a yellow X scar on its chest appeared behind Subaru and roared as he searched his deck and let another Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff card fall in his graveyard.

"Amazing! He actually brought that thing in the battle zone…" the Doctor gasped.

"Cool huh?" Subaru winked and then he turned to his opponent. "Since Super Go On Pippi makes all my creatures with both Dragon and Hunter in their race speed attackers I now attack with Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff! With its effect I cast Miracle Re Born from my graveyard and revive a second Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff!"

A second purple armored knight appeared behind Subaru and he put the Miracle Re Born spell at the bottom of his deck and searched for another card which he then dropped into his graveyard. Then the first knight used both of its guns and shot down two of the sumo man's shields, making two cards bounce off his table into his hand.

"Then I attack with my second Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff and cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole which destroys Zabi Fly and puts Victorious Meteor Kaiser in the battle zone!" Subaru said and then he watched how Komusubi's creature card bounced off his table and how a blue armored dragon with a red fire horn in its nose and wielding a fire sword in its tail appeared in the battle zone. "Zero Romanoff, break two more shields!"

The second knight repeated the gun attacks of the first one and two more cards bounced off Komusubi's table.

"Super Go On Pippi, break his final shield!" Subaru ordered and the fire bird flew towards the fat man and caused the last shield card to bounce off as well and land into his hand. "And now Doctor, the man is shield less, meaning that nothing can protect him anymore from my attacks."

"So what happens then?" the Doctor asked.

"Then you attack him once more and win the game!"

With those words being said, Subaru tapped a card in his battle zone and said:

"Victorious Meteor Kaiser, todomeda!"

The blue armored dragon gave a loud roar and then it flew towards Komusubi and used its fire sword to hit him and throw him far away from the TARDIS. Atsuto gave Subaru a thumb up and then he disappeared back into the card as the teen packed up his cards victoriously. Then he turned to the amazed Doctor that had his jaw dropped.

"How was it, Doctor?" Subaru asked while crossing his arms.

"Well I'll be damned, that was fantastic!" the Doctor exclaimed. "Those creatures, those moves, those spells, I love it, I love it, I love it! Tell me Mercedes, how can I get to play this game?"

"The name is Subaru, and if you want to learn more about it, then you can come to my place, we've got a lot of fun stuff there."

"Excellent idea! It would be wonderful to meet new people as well. By the way, what was the name of this card game that you were playing again?"

"Oh? It's called Duel Masters."

"I see. Duel Masters is cool."

And so the two new friends closed the doors of the TARDIS and walked out in the gentle autumn rain heading for the UFO in which Subaru lived.

Meanwhile in a prison far away a blonde woman was sitting on a bed with six metallic cylinders covering her arms, legs and horns from her head. The woman opened her cold blue eyes and then she whispered devilishly:

"The Doctor has come."

* * *

_Subaru(rubbing his hands): Yes, that's how our adventure began. _

_Doctor: It was a rather delightful beginning; don't you agree on that, Opel?_

_Subaru(slightly annoyed voice): How many times do I have to tell you? My name is Subaru!_

_Doctor: That's what I said!_

_Subaru: Anyway, I hope you join us next time for the continuation of our adventure!_

* * *

_[In the next chapter]:_

_Subaru introduces the mysterious Doctor to his friends in the UFO while an old foe reappears seeking new power. Our heroes will go on a time travel quest to feudal Japan trying to fix something that went wrong, but what surprises await them there? _


	2. Building a deck

_Doctor(sitting at a table dipping fish fingers in custard): Oh hey there, it's so nice to see you again! Well as you probably already knew, I am the Doctor. Anyway, I just got into this wacky card game called Duel Masters a couple of weeks ago and the more I play it the cooler it seems! Well I could go on forever about this, but I think it's better if you knew how it started for me._

* * *

The raindrops were falling quicker from the sky as each second passed, their collision with the steel roof of the UFO making a rather unpleasant noise for its inhabitants. Inside the spaceship, sitting at its kitchen were the three former chosen duelists that were in their late teens – Edo, Tsugumi and Subaru and the strange man dressed in rather elegant clothes from the previous century who called himself the Doctor. While the blonde girl was busy programming the cooking machine to make food for their guest, Edo and Subaru sat at the table along with the Doctor listening to him tell them his tale.

"So let me get this straight." Subaru spoke once the Doctor finished talking. "You're a Time Lord from planet Gallifrey who stole a machine called the TARDIS and you traveled through space and time, saved lots of planets, participated in many of the Earth's most important historical events and besides that you're like 1100 years old."

"That's all correct." the Doctor nodded.

"I don't know why but I find this to be…"

"Awesome!" Edo interrupted Subaru. "This guy simply reeks of awesome, Suby!"

"Actually Edo-kun, what I wanted to say was that…"

"The Doctor is welcome to stay at our place for as long as he likes and you're his new assistant, right?"

"Well no, Edo-kun, what I actually wanted to say was…"

"That I'll go and prepare his room right now!" the brown haired male said while getting up from the table. "Make yourself feel like home!"

"I like him. That guy is cool." the Doctor pointed at Edo as he left the kitchen.

"Yeah, he tends to go a little hyperactive sometimes, but he's actually a great person once you know him better." Subaru explained. "Anyway Doctor, you said you wanted to get into the game, right?"

"Yes, this dueling is really fascinating!"

"Then in that case, let's get started, shall we?"

"But boys what about dinner? It should be ready soon." Tsugumi brought up.

"Dinner can wait; we've got a deck to build for the Doctor!" Subaru excused himself as he got up from the table. "Doctor, let me show you my room, I'll get my cards out and we'll be able to make a dueling deck for you."

"Oh such a wonderful idea, Mazda!" the Doctor exclaimed and followed the black haired teen.

"The name is Subaru!"

"That's what I said!"

Tsugumi shrugged her shoulders while watching the duo leave and then she returned to her cooking.

But little did they know that many miles away inside one of Japan's most secured prisons an old evil was about to rise again. An alarm resounded in the highly fortified building and while everyone was getting mobilized two guards were sitting in front of a prison cell and discussing while being in total ignorance of what was going on.

"So how was your lunch today, man?" one asked the other.

"It was nice. My wife knows how to cook those rice goodies." the other replied. "Say, do you happen to know why the alarm is on?"

"Probably someone accidentally pressed a button, I don't know. They always love to make these false alarms."

"Guys, Tabitha Lenox is escaping her cell!" a third guard shouted to them.

"Tabitha Lenox? Come on, she has sat there doing nothing for over six months!" the first guard said and then he gesticulated to the prison cell behind him.

In the next moment the sounds of metals breaking tore through their ears like striking lightning. When the three guards turned their attention to the cell they had the shock of seeing the blonde witch dressed in purple clothes with a dark blue cape and red boots rise from her bed with her limbs freed from the cylinders that kept her imprisoned. The witch gave them a maniacal grin that immediately stunned them and by a simple snapping of her fingers the cylinders that kept the two long horns from her red crown cracked open.

"Foolish mortals, did you honestly think that you could keep someone like me inside this pathetic excuse of a prison?" Tabitha mockingly spoke to them and then she snapped her fingers again and melted her prison bars.

"Jesus Christ, Tabitha Lenox is escaping!" one of the guards exclaimed and pulled out his laser gun. "Hurry men, let's get armed and stop this fiend!"

"Hahaha, not even the guy you just mentioned before my name can do anything to stop me now!" the witch responded.

Before any of the guards could pull out their weapons Tabitha waved her hands in the air and fired lightning from both turning two of them into ash. The one in the middle had his hands and feet shake with fear as the witch slowly approached him like a lion approaching its prey. He tried to aim for her forehead with his gun but in the very next moment the two horns from her crown changed their position from vertical to horizontal and stretched towards him. The horns grabbed him by the neck like a crab's claw and raised him in the air, making him drop his gun.

"And what would your final words be, mortal?" Tabitha asked with satisfaction.

"Put him down right now!" a loud voice resounded.

The witch turned and saw an entire team of police guards equipped with protective shields and laser guns that were aimed at her. However she seemed the least intimidated by their attempts to stop her from escaping. With a single swing of her head she threw the guard that was held captive in her horns at them and like a bowling ball he made them all collapse on the floor.

"Even with all this technology, humans these days are simply too easy. Still, that was some good exercise." Tabitha commented and rubbed her hands. "Oh well, this is no place for a lady to hang around anymore."

With those words being uttered, the blonde witch opened a portal in which she disappeared. Outside in the clear night sky a red portal opened and out of it Tabitha flew like a majestic bird that lacked wings and seared through the air. She set her cold blue eyes upon the cities that reigned on the earth and smiled at man's delusion that he could be able to conquer a planet that had always belonged to the Dark Side.

"Now that the Doctor has finally arrived I can finally see to my future that the crystal ball showed me." Tabitha said but then she remembered something and made a creature card that had all the civilizations, the cost of 20 and power 23000 appear in her right hand. "Devil Diabolos Zeta, it's me, Tabitha Lenox, your best ally. I have returned. Tell me - are there any new plans in store for our evil conquest?"

"Tabitha… Lenox…" a low demonic voice came out of the card faintly.

"What is the matter? Why do you sound so weakened?"

"The Proof had turned me… into another fighter for the good cause. As a result… I have been given to Tsugumi Shirayama… and can no longer be used for our cause."

"Why that sneaky rock, how dare it interfere in our business?!"

"Don't you worry Tabitha… I may be useless in this current state… but little did any of them know… that the Devil cannot be tamed."

"Hehe, I like the sound of that."

"During these past months… while being imprisoned… I have managed to transcend beyond the five civilizations."

"By the glory of Hades…" Tabitha gasped. "Does that mean that you have become…"

"A Zero civilization creature… a Zenith to be more specific." Devil Diabolos Zeta completed her sentence. "And now Tabitha Lenox… let me show you my true form!"

In the next moment the card that the witch was holding got surrounded by a white aura and changed its picture. Tabitha watched the process with amazement and when the aura disappeared she saw that Devil Diabolos Zeta's image had changed. Now the creature was a white serpent like demon that was wielding golden swords with its skeletal arms, had two pairs of white horns, one which resembled wings, the creature also had a pair of white angelic wings on its back and a green crystal shining majestically in its chest. Its cost had changed to 10, its power to 13000 and the witch read its new name:

"Zeta-File, Zenith of "Mystery"…"

Back at the UFO as the Doctor was looking around Subaru's room fascinated by the collection of books the black haired teen had in that time of human history, the former chosen darkness duelist pulled out a large carton box and put it on the bed.

"Wow, that's some heavy weight you've got there, Skoda." the Doctor said.

"My name is Subaru!" the black haired boy growled annoyed. "Anyway, this is my entire card collection, Doctor. Over the years I dare to say that I've gathered quite a lot."

Subaru slowly opened the box and when the Doctor looked inside he had the surprise of seeing a sea of colorful cards. In the next moment the teen wearing a black shirt turned the box upside down and let all the cards fall on his bed creating a large pyramid.

"My gosh… how do you manage to keep such a collection?" the Doctor asked still amazed.

"Experience." Subaru shortly replied while searching in the pile of cards. "Very well Doctor, let's see what kind of deck we can make for you."

"Oh let me try it, Honda!" the Doctor exclaimed while pushing Subaru away and searching for cards on his own.

"But Doctor, you don't even know what those cards do…"

"Oh lookie, something green, I like green!" the Doctor said while pulling out a Nature creature that had a cost of 8 and 9000 power. "Also yellow, yellow always goes well with green!" the Doctor continued while pulling out a Light spell with the cost of 5. "And then there's blue, such a lovely color!" the Doctor commented while also taking a Water spell that had a cost of 5. "And red, I guess red is also cool!" the Doctor concluded and took a Fire creature with the cost of 10. "What do you say about my picks, Toyota?"

"Let's see what you've got there…" Subaru mumbled while looking at the cards. "Baban Ban Ban, Earth's Blessing, Positron Sign, Hogan Blaster and GILL Supergalactic Dragon. Weird choices, but somehow they seem to work."

"I like the last card's name. GILL Supergalactic Dragon… I like the sounds that the word GILL makes, and Supergalactic is such a cool made-up word, especially for a Dragon. By the way, Dragons are cool."

"I wonder… What type of deck we could build with these cards…"

Subaru put the four cards on the floor and stared at them for a few moments.

"Hm… Hogan Blaster is great for getting out giant creatures like GILL and Baban, and then there's Positron Sign, the spell that allows you to cast shield trigger spells from the top four cards of your deck. I wonder if there is any shield trigger spell that could help bring out giant creatures other than Hogan Blaster…"

"Are you alright there, BMW?" the Doctor asked the brainstorming Subaru with concern.

"Aha, I get it now!" Subaru exclaimed while pointing his index finger in the air.

"What did you find out?" the kooky man asked excited.

"Miramisu!"

"What? I don't want any tiramisu for desert, thank you."

"No Doctor, I just realized what kind of deck type we can build up. And that deck type goes by the name of Miramisu."

The rather confused Doctor watched how Subaru searched in the pile of cards with excitement until he finally pulled out a spell card that had the colors of the rainbow and the cost of 5.

"And what might that colorful thing be?" the Doctor asked.

"This, Doctor, is one of the strongest shield trigger spells in the game. Its name is The Door of Miracle and Mystery, its Japanese equivalent being Miramisu. A deck based on this card is called Miramisu." Subaru explained.

"Aha, I see. The Door of Miracle and Mystery is a really cool name. It reminds me of my TARDIS quite a lot, actually. So what does it do?"

"Oh this beauty of a spell along with Hogan Blaster will be the cards that bring out your giant creatures into the battle zone. But until then I suggest we look for some good giant creatures."

"Whatever you say, Ferrari, I trust that you'll build me a cool deck." The Doctor shrugged his shoulders.

After an hour of intense work the deck was almost done. The Doctor looked surprised through the colorful cards and noticed different numbers on their left corners while also being impressed by their artworks.

"Why this deck looks amazing!" the Doctor exclaimed happily.

"Hehe, it's the first time I build a Miramisu deck so don't expect it to be very effective." Subaru rubbed his nose. "Anyway, the deck is not complete."

"Huh? How come?"

"Because it still needs five more cards. A deck must have forty cards."

"Ah, I see. Well let's search for more cards then."

"Actually Doctor, I recently bought some DMR-06 booster packs."

"Booster packs?"

"Yes, through these we duelists get cards." Subaru said while pulling out another box from under the bed. "Let's see what surprise we will get."

The Doctor watched as the black haired boy opened the box and pulled out a couple of boosters. Subaru offered them to his guest and said:

"Alright Doctor, open them and let's see what cards we got. Maybe there will be something useful for your deck."

"As you say, Citroen…" the Doctor replied and he ripped off the top of the booster.

Suddenly he felt a shiver go through his body as he slowly pulled out the first card. The Doctor stared at it with fascination as it shined with a red light and his own hand got surrounded by a red aura. A golden V shined even stronger than the red light on the card's upper side and then a red haired humanoid dressed in a red and blue armor, wielding a shining white sword and riding a purple armored dragon appeared in front of him as a hologram.

"Amazing…" the Doctor gasped. "What are you?"

"I am your new avatar, master. My name is Onimaru "Head", Victory Rush." the creature introduced itself and suddenly it disappeared leaving the Doctor even more flabbergasted than before.

"I don't believe it, Doctor!" Subaru exclaimed while taking a look at the card. "You've got a Victory card!"

"That is a good thing?" the Doctor asked even more confused.

"Good thing? This means that you are now able to bring creatures into this world. You are officially a kaijudo duelist!"

"Oh, like how you did back there in the TARDIS? That's such wonderful news!"

After opening all of the boosters Subaru had the greatest shock of getting four Onimaru "Head", Victory Rush. And since he would not use them he gave all four to the Doctor for his deck. Now as the man wearing a bowtie was browsing his first deck ever Subaru looked into a pile of Darkness cards.

"These cards are fabulous, I can't wait to see how they work!" the Doctor said.

"Just a second, Doctor, you still need one more card in your deck in order to have forty." Subaru brought up and then he handed his guest a Darkness card that had a cost of 8 and 8000 power. "Here, take this."

"Oh? And what would this be?"

"It's Death Six, Ruthless Prince, a creature that I used to use a few months ago. It's my gift to you."

"Why thanks a lot, I really appreciate it!" the Doctor exclaimed and took the card.

"It's nothing really…" Subaru modestly replied.

All of a sudden the Doctor's expression changed from jolly to serious much to the black haired male's surprise. The strange man got up from the floor and looked at him in the eye, Subaru managing to see loneliness and longing in them.

"Say Subaru…" the Doctor began to speak.

"You actually said my name!"

"Tell me, would you like to be my assistant? I could really use the help of someone like you, especially since you seem to master this creature summoning game."

"It's called Duel Masters. And I don't know what to say, Doctor… What does being your assistant mean for me?"

"It means… that your life will be put in grave danger from now on, that you and possibly your loved ones will have to face many threats. But also, if you come with me, I will open the door to new possibilities – we will see new worlds, new civilizations, new planets, see humanity's past and future, because the universe is a random place filled with random miracles while my TARDIS, also known as a Time and Relative Dimension in Space, is the key to this Door of Miracle and Mystery. So what do you say?"

"Heh, my whole life I have been in danger along with my loved ones. I'll take the risk. Besides, what would I have to lose?" Subaru shrugged his shoulders and then he stretched his hand in the air. "I accept!"

"Great!" the Doctor exclaimed and shook his hand. "Welcome to the team, Subaru!"

"Boys, dinner is ready!" Tsugumi's voice resounded from the hallway.

"I guess we should go and eat." Subaru sighed.

"Wait, how about we go on a little adventure?" the Doctor suggested.

"Are you crazy?! Tsugumi will get mad at us if we…"

"Trust me; we will be back in just a second."

In a matter of minutes the duo got inside the TARDIS after running in the powerful rain. While Subaru was squeezing the water out of his black shirt, the Doctor climbed to the center of the machine and started pressing buttons and pulling levers.

"So where should our first stop be?" the Doctor asked. "As my assistant, you'll get to decide."

"Hm, so many places in such a short time…" Subaru replied while drying his hair with his hands. "I don't know, how about feudal Japan?"

"Feudal Japan it is!"

In the next moment the whole machine started shaking and the TARDIS disappeared from the place it landed.

In Japan during the summer of 1181, the powerful sun was rising upon the clear sky to dawn another day upon the peaceful green fields. Its rays entered through the opened windows of a hidden wooden temple in which a boy in his late teens with messy red hair was sleeping. Once the morning light touched his eyes he turned around with his face to the wall and moaned in protest of the sun's decision to wake him up. Suddenly the doors to his room opened and a boy of his age with fairly long brown hair, brown eyes and a black robe stepped in and shouted:

"Rise and shine Rad-kun!"

"Argh Koji-kun, just five more minutes!" the red haired complained.

"We've got no time to waste - tonight our clan is invading the Heike residence in Sunomata-gawa. This may be our last chance to overthrow those tyrants and finally bring an era of peace and prosperity for the Sacred Islands under the reign of the Genji! For that we have to be at our top tonight!" Koji eagerly spoke.

"Alright, alright, I'll meet you and sensei in a couple of minutes."

The red haired teen rubbed his tired red eyes while Koji left the room. Then he got up, stretched his arms and legs, grabbed a red suit that had yellow flames on it and started dressing up.

Meanwhile at the entrance of the temple a bald man with a short black beard and moustache dressed in a dark blue kimono was sitting on the wooden floor with both his legs crossed enjoying a cup of tea and admiring the beauty of the sunlit field. However his silence was disturbed by the young Koji who came to him still dressed in his temple robes.

"Good morning, Masato-sensei!" Koji greeted his master and did a respectful bow.

"Good morning to you too, Koji-kun, how are you today?" the man responded.

"I am up and fully ready for the battle!"

"Ah yes, tonight is the night that the Genji launch their attack on the Heike, right?"

"As we had planned for a long time, after all these years of tyranny we will have our revenge and take what is rightfully ours!"

"Do not think like that, Koji-kun."

"But Masato-sensei…"

"A true warrior is one who fights for the fate of his country and people, not one who fights for revenge and power."

"I understand…" the brown haired warrior lowered his head and sighed.

"So how is Rad-kun doing? Is he ready for the battle?" master Masato asked.

"He's sleepy as always. It's been a year since we met him and he still cannot handle waking up by sunrise and going to sleep early."

"Indeed it is strange. I have never seen anyone with such a weird sleeping behavior before. Then again, I must confess that throughout my life I have never seen anyone as strange as Rad-kun."

"I have to agree, sensei. When we found him in the forest a year ago I never imagined that he would change our lives so very much. He was speaking a different language than ours, was wearing those strange clothes with flames, and even his deck has strange cards that I had never seen before."

"Teaching him our language seemed easy, though. The lad caught up fast. Same was with getting him used to our foods, though I am sad that he did not like our kimonos and preferred to wear that suit of his. As for his deck... I swear that his cards are not only overpowered but those creatures seem to have evolved way beyond the Samurais and Knights that are now currently reigning the Duel Masters circles."

"But besides all this, Masato-sensei, I think I have finally found a good friend in him."

"How so, Koji-kun?"

"We both attended sword mastering lessons in the Genji camp thanks to you and we've spent the last year training in swordsmanship together. And while he did defeat me many times in duels with his superior deck, I always enjoyed seeing him and his complex strategies into action."

"I am glad to hear that, Koji-kun. It seems that the way of sword and that of the monsters brought you two together to a prosperous friendship."

"That is true, sensei."

"I have to ask though; did he develop the sense of battle yet?"

"Not fully, but he is evolving a lot as a samurai. I enjoy seeing him ascend to the ranks of Genji. Maybe one day when the war is over we will go together on a quest over the Sacred Islands to find other hidden Duel Masters temples like this one and discover new duelists."

"May the spirits of the elders be with you on whatever journey you wish to go, Koji-kun. And please take good care of Rad-kun, you are his only friend in this land to which he is foreign."

"I will, Masato-sensei."

Their discussion ceased as they heard footsteps coming from behind them. They turned around and saw the red haired teen come out of the temple dressed in his red suit with yellow flames and having a black jacket cover it. He also wore red boots with yellow flames that matched his suit and had a black sheath in which he held his sword.

"Good morning, Masato-sensei." he greeted and bowed.

"Good morning, Rad-kun." the master greeted back. "How was your sleep?"

"Not that good, sensei. I keep having these weird dreams that have been haunting me ever since the end of spring."

"I see. We will discuss about this a little later, Rad-kun, but first how about you and Koji-kun have a duel? I would like to see how your skills have improved."

"Yes." both young samurais nodded and took out their decks.

The duo walked to the two improved dueling tables made of wood by their master that had the mana zone, shield zone, battle zone, deck place and graveyard delimitated by lines drawn with chalk. But for Rad he had a small problem since he had a type of cards that were lying in a zone next to the graveyard. The best he could do was to push them a bit to the right of the graveyard.

"Alright, let us do this, Koji-kun."

"After you, Rad-kun."

"Duel start!" the two shouted and ten rectangular blue shields materialized above them.

"I charge mana and end my turn." Rad said while putting Bolbalzak Ex tapped in his mana zone.

"I charge mana and end my turn." Koji said while putting Hell's Scrapper in his mana zone.

"I charge mana and cast Faerie Life."

The top card of Rad's deck which was Eternal Meteor Kaiser bounced off and landed in his mana zone next to Bolbalzak Ex and Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole.

"I charge mana and cast Faerie Life." Koji said and then the top card of his deck which was Dragon Gear – Zangeki Mach Armor landed in his mana zone along with Hell's Scrapper and Natural Snare.

"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy her." Rad said and once again the top card of his deck which this time was Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper ended in his mana zone.

"I cast Living Lithograph."

Not falling behind with the mana accel, Koji put the top card of his deck into the mana zone as well. Now both duelists had five mana each.

"Alright Koji-kun, it's time to get down to business – I cast Hyperspatial Shooting Hole and put Gaial Kaiser in the battle zone!" Rad said and then a red armored dragon with a long tail, two long horns stretched to its back like hair and that was wielding two yellow flaming swords appeared behind him.

"I fortify one of my shields with Hustle Castle and end." Koji did his turn in a nutshell.

"I cast Hyperspatial Gaial Hole and put Boost, Crimson Lord and Dragonic Pippi in the battle zone!"

A red tiger dressed in a golden armor with two sharp fangs coming out of its mouth and a burning horn coming out of its forehead appeared behind Rad along with a red bird that had jets on its wings and a blue helmet on its head.

"I guess it is time I brought out my biggies too." Koji suggested.

"Bring it on." Rad dared him.

"I summon Bolmeteus Samurai Dragon and draw a card thanks to Hustle Castle. Then Gravity Zero, I summon Valkerios Samurai Dragon for free and draw another card. Gravity Zero yet again, I summon Valkerios Dragon and draw a card yet again thanks to Hustle Castle. I end."

Koji's creature spam was indeed impressive and Rad admired how his friend managed to get out three powerful Dragons in just one turn. However, things were in favor for the red haired one.

"Psychic Link – I unite Gaial Kaiser, Dragonic Pippi and Boost, Crimson Lord into Gaial King Dragon, Raging Dragon Lord!" Rad said and his three creatures united, got surrounded by a red aura, grew in size and turned into a giant red armored dragon with large yellow wings.

"Amazing…" Koji uttered upon seeing the creature.

"Gaial King Dragon has 25000 power, is a world breaker and when it attacks I destroy all of your creatures with power less than him."

"Oh no, that means…"

"That your field is toast. I summon Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon!"

A red dragon, with a golden mane, that was dressed in red samurai armor and wielding two sharp swords that were shaped like crosses appeared behind Rad.

"Oh no, it's that creature again…" Koji barely spoke.

"Exactly, it's my speed attacker that destroys a blocker when it attacks." Rad replied while tapping his Psychic Super Creature. "Go, Gaial King Dragon, destroy all his creatures and break all of his shields!"

The giant winged dragon spat fire from its mouth which fell upon Koji's three Samurai Dragons destroying them immediately. Then Gaial King Dragon swung its tail and used it to break all of his five shields. Sadly for him, he had no shield triggers.

"Genji Double Cross, todomeda!" Rad ordered and Genji jumped in the air and hit Koji with one of the cross shaped swords throwing him away.

After the match was over Rad packed up Koji's cards and walked to his friend helping him up and giving his deck back.

"Good game!" Rad patted his friend on the shoulder.

"Yeah, but I wonder if I will ever be able to beat your overpowered deck." Koji jokingly said.

"Well we've got all the time in the world to see, haha."

"Indeed. Anyway, I'll go and change into my samurai clothes. See you later at the sword fight training."

And with that small farewell the two friends separated. Rad returned to master Masato who asked him to sit next to him with his legs crossed. The red haired duelist did as he was told. Now that it was just the two of them, the master was able to concentrate on his student's problems.

"And now Rad-kun, could you tell me what is bothering you?"

"Masato-sensei, I keep having strange dreams."

"Strange dreams? Please go into more detail, what is going on in these dreams?"

"I keep seeing these four people that are of my same age and we are all hanging around in this strange building that is made of metal."

"I see. Who are these people exactly?"

"I don't remember, sensei, but two of them are boys and two of them are girls. What I do remember was that one of the boys kept annoying me, one of the girls was creeping me out, and the other two were a couple. Besides that I think I also dueled them in those dreams and they were each using the deck of a different civilization."

"I wonder what this dream could signify. Maybe it was a past life of yours, Rad-kun."

"But sensei, the place in which we were and the way they dressed and acted seemed too advanced to belong to the past! Something else is going on here…"

"If that is not an option, then maybe, just maybe…"

"What is it, Masato-sensei?"

"Rad-kun, you do not remember anything prior to the day we had found you in the forest, right?"

"Yes, that is true."

"Maybe this dream could belong to the time before we found you. Probably if you concentrate more on it, you will be able to find out who you really are and where you came from."

"I will think about what you said." Rad spoke while getting up. "But now if you excuse me sensei, I would like to take a walk into the forest."

"Sure, Rad-kun, relax your spirit and body, you will need it for tonight's showdown." master Masato advised him.

And so the red haired male ended up walking in the deep forest all by himself during the heat of summer all while thinking about the dreams that he had with those four strange characters. But then he woke up from his thoughts as he heard a strange noise. He jumped behind a tree and watched how a strange blue police box materialized a few feet away from him. Its doors opened and out of it the Doctor and Subaru walked.

"Here we are, Japan in the summer of 1181!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"Ah, such a quiet and peaceful place!" Subaru stretched his arms. "Let's go and find something to eat and maybe have a bath in the hot springs."

"Good idea!"

Rad suddenly gasped, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he fixed his sight on the black haired teen dressed in a black T shirt with the Darkness civilization logo and dark blue jeans. He looked exactly like one of the boys from his dreams.

"It's him…" Rad whispered.

All of a sudden more images started flashing into his mind, of him dueling other strange faces, of him driving a strange vehicle which helped him sear through the wild skies, of him sitting in a desk at a school and of him in a crowd during a dueling tournament. When Rad opened his eyes he saw that Subaru and the Doctor had taken off to find a city. Realizing that the puzzle of his past was about to complete itself, he decided to follow the duo.

* * *

_Doctor(finishing the last fish finger with custard): So yes, this is how my new assistant built me my very first dueling deck. Also, if you wonder about that samurai guy that was following us, he…_

_Tsugumi(enters the kitchen looking rather angry): Doctor! Did you finish all the custard again?!_

_Doctor(sweating): Hehe, see you soon, folks! (runs away from the table)_

* * *

_[In the next chapter]:_

_Subaru and the Doctor visit the city of Sunomata-gawa and relax while Rad secretly follows them around eager to find out more about his past. Koji trains hard so that he will be able to contribute fully to the surprise attack of the Genji. But what is this? The Heike found out about their attack and the city hall has turned into a battlefield for the two clans? _


	3. Birth of the wandering samurai

_Rad(sitting on a stone in the middle of a beach under the clear night sky looking at a red sword): You know, I once heard that the reason why a warrior fights is his biggest and strongest engine in battle. It's what motivates him to keep on going, what gives him hope when all is against him and sometimes what also saves his life from imminent death. However that's not the case for me, for what motivates me to fight has never once enlightened me or given me hope. That's because revenge is a dish best served cold…_

* * *

The doors of the TARDIS opened and two red boots stepped out of it, a dark blue cape lowering to their level. Tabitha grinned as she looked around at the trees that were surrounding her. The witch flew into the twilight sky and saw that beyond the forest in which she was a small city lied.

"Heh, it turns out it was a good idea to sneak in that police box until those two got back. If they were right, that means that this must be Feudal Japan." Tabitha remarked and rubbed her hands. "Perfect, it is time for good old Tabby to have some fun!"

The blonde woman flew off from the place she was at heading towards the human hive. Beneath her, in the forest, the Doctor and Subaru were also approaching the same city by foot. Obviously the journey was a little harder for them especially since they couldn't find any paved path and had to make their way through trees, bushes and mud.

"Boy don't they have any roads or taxis in this place?!" Subaru complained.

"Of course not, Renault, we are in the twelfth century." the Doctor sighed.

"Well whose brilliant idea was it for us to come here?"

"Yours."

"Oh yeah…" Subaru blushed surprised of his own stupidity. "Anyway Doctor, how are we going to interact with the Japanese people?" he changed the subject. "I for one don't know their language."

"Neither do I, but we don't have to worry about this!" the Doctor smiled at him with a confident look in his eyes. "The TARDIS has a program that makes us understand the language the inhabitants from another world or time speak in English and also allows them to hear us in their native language."

"Wow, that's amazing!"

"I know!"

Six feet behind, Rad was following them hiding behind trees all the time. The last thing he wanted was to be spotted by those that he was in pursuit of. And as he took quick glances of the two, the more he saw the black haired teen's face, the more strange images were flashing into his mind until he closed his eyes to concentrate on them.

_Suddenly a red rocket with flames on it appeared out of nowhere in front of the black haired boy. Subaru stared at the rocket amazed, for he had never seen a racing rocket before and he found it fascinating. The rocket's door opened and out of it a red haired boy wearing red racer clothes appeared. He walked towards Subaru while giving him a cold stare. The black haired boy sweated a bit and made a few steps back thinking that the mighty boy behind him might be a threat._

_"Are you the chosen darkness duelist?" the racer asked._

_"Y-yes ... and you're a minion of Rezo's, right?" Subaru asked._

_"What? Hell no! I'm the chosen fire duelist in case you haven't noticed. Rad's the name." the red haired boy said and handed his hand._

_"My name's Subaru, nice to meet you, Rad." Subaru replied and shook hands with Rad._

_"Listen, you up for a little ride?"_

_"In that rocket? Of course, let's go!" Subaru said and ran inside of it._

Rad opened his eyes and saw that the two people he was stalking were far away from him. He immediately rushed after them trying to make silent steps so that they would not sense his presence. In that time he was thinking about the vision he had just had:

"Chosen darkness duelist? Chosen fire duelist? And that name… Subaru… Were we friends? And what is that 'rocket' that he spoke of?"

"Hm, you know Nisan, if you want to be my assistant you will have to be a little more stylish." the Doctor commented.

"Subaru! My name is Subaru! Is it that hard to keep in mind a single word?!" the black haired teen complained.

"Yeah, yeah, as you say… I was thinking that maybe you should get yourself a bowtie."

"A what? And why would I want to wear one?"

"Because let's face it, bowties are cool!"

"Yeah right and smoking is healthy…"

"Depends on what you smoke."

"In your case, Doctor, I think you smoked too much forbidden substances if you know what I mean."

Slash! Another wooden doll fell on the ground in two pieces. Koji sighed and placed his red sword back in his sheath. Then he took off his protective glasses and looked at pile of slashed wooden dolls that he had created in less than an hour. There were almost two hundred of them. In his mind he viewed them as Heike samurai and the amount of spilled blood would still not be enough to pay for the oppression of their reign. The brown haired samurai dusted off his war clothes which consisted of a red kimono tied at his waist with a green material, a black armor that protected his chest and shoulders and black boots.

"Koji-kun, are you ready?" a man in his late thirties spoke from a group of adults that was sitting inside a house and watching him train.

"Yes sir, I feel like I am." Koji responded.

"Good. The sun is setting. You better bring Rad-kun over here so that we can all join the Genji army for our attack. And remember; be at your planned spot with an hour before midnight!"

"I understand. I will see you in a two hours."

Koji bowed in front of the samurai men and walked off out of the yard in which he had been training. The people at which he had been were a noble influential family that had been secretly aiding the Genji for years and offered them shelter, places to train and money. They were one of the few reliable allies that his clan had. Even though he had been fighting for the Genji clan for a long time, he was still impressed by the number of people that supported them, almost as if half of the country was on their side and the other half was on the side of their enemies, the Heike. One thing was for sure, he would enjoy his very first fight against them that would take place that night and he looked forward with excitement at the victory party that his comrades would throw the next morning. However there was also something that bothered him and that was Rad's lack of involving into their operation. It was not that his red haired friend was not committed to the Genji cause, it was that he was spending too much of his time alone contemplating over those strange dreams that he was having instead of training hard for the imminent battle with the tyrannical Heike.

"Where could he be now?" Koji sighed and stopped at the outskirts of the city looking at the deep forest that lied in front of him.

But little did he know that his friend was getting closer than he thought. Subaru and the Doctor were fifteen minutes away by foot from the city. In order for time to pass and for them to ignore the harshness of their journey, the Doctor tried to strike a conversation with his new assistant:

"So why did you choose Feudal Japan out of all places and times first?"

"I think it's because I was always fascinated with the samurai and the way they were viewed as those honorable warriors that fought for justice." Subaru explained. "That or either I've been seeing too much anime lately."

"Either way your choice was brilliant! This time in human history is indeed interesting as fighting seems to be the factor that guides most lives. However what I personally find interesting…" the Doctor said while rubbing his chin. "… is that this time it is not necessarily a fight for survival like it was back in the days of primitive man, but a fight for honor and dignity. At least that is my impression from what you are saying."

"If only they knew that we samurai are just elite warriors that fight for the heads of our clans and do whatever we are ordered to do, no matter how unjust it might seem to us." Rad thought with an expression of disgust on his face. "All that crap about us being noble warriors is something we cooked up to justify our existence as a social class during times of peace. That's why I chose to not involve myself too much in this whole Genji affair even if they are the good guys."

All of a sudden the Doctor stopped and pulled out his sonic screw driver from his pocket which shined with its green light.

"What's the matter, Doctor?" Subaru asked.

"Someone has been following us. I can sense a presence behind us." the Doctor replied and turned around only to find nobody.

"What are you talking about? There's no-one there."

Luckily for Rad he managed to notice the Doctor's strange behavior at the right moment and hid behind a tree. However the Doctor was a stubborn fellow and he started inspecting each tree with his sonic screwdriver so the red haired teen knew that sooner or later he would be caught. Seeing no other choice, he searched his black jacket and pulled out a golden mask which belonged to his samurai costume. He used it to cover his face and then he walked out of his hideout surprising both Subaru and the Doctor.

"Well hello there! It's rare that I manage to meet a samurai." the Doctor greeted him in a friendly manner. "I am the Doctor and this here is my assistant…"

"Subaru! Don't you even try to pronounce my name in another way to confuse the poor samurai. My name is Subaru!" the black haired duelist furiously interrupted him.

"Gee, I didn't know you got upset so easily. I better keep that in mind for future reference."

"Tsh… are you two done yet?" the samurai asked obviously unimpressed.

"What is it that you want from us, mister samurai?" Subaru asked.

In the next moment the samurai searched in the jacket's pockets and much to their surprise he pulled out a dueling deck that was glowing with a bright red aura that was shaped like a flame.

"I challenge you to a duel!" the samurai said to Subaru.

"A dueling deck in this era of human history?" Subaru replied flabbergasted.

"Well I'll be damned, I never thought this game was that old!" the Doctor added.

"Neither did I, Doctor…"

"So are you going to stand there all day like a coward or are you going to accept my challenge?" the samurai harshly spoke to Subaru.

"Fine, I accept!" the boy with black mane replied and pulled out his deck that was surrounded by a purple aura.

Two wooden dueling tables arose from the ground and the two players walked to them, put their decks on, set their five shields, drew five cards and then they both looked each other in the eye for a moment. Then they both shouted 'Duel start!' and the match began. Five blue rectangular shields appeared above both duelists.

"I summon Deepsea Typhoon." Subaru said and then a black turtle with blue spikes coming out of the back of its shell appeared in the battle zone. "By its effect I draw a card and discard Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff."

"I summon Taiga, the Warrior Savage." the samurai said and then a yellow armored humanoid that seemed like a tiger and had a laser gun instead of a right hand appeared behind him. "Taiga is a speed attacker, so I break one of your shields with it!"

"Block the attack, Deepsea Typhoon!"

Taiga aimed its gun for one of Subaru's shields but then Deepsea Typhoon jumped on the humanoid and the blast pierced through the turtle's body causing an explosion in which both creatures were engulfed and disappeared. Their respective cards bounced off their owners' tables and landed in their graveyards.

"I summon Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist." Subaru said and then a black haired male dressed in a dark blue suit with a black cape, red tie and that was holding a lollipop in his left hand and a rose in his right hand appeared next to him.

"Oh wow Subaru, where are we? This place looks so savage like. And is your opponent going to a Halloween party or something?" Atsuto asked.

"You'll find it hard to believe, Atsuto, but we are now in Feudal Japan and we are facing off with a real life samurai."

"What? You mean to say that we are now over a thousand years in the past and the guy you're facing is actually a real samurai?!"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying."

"Hehe… how fabulous?"

"Try not to think too hard about it, ok?"

Atsuto shrugged his shoulders and then he drew two cards for Subaru and offered them to him. Afterwards he selected Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger and Emergency Typhoon from his hand and discarded them.

"My turn, I summon Yuu, Passionate Duel Hero." the samurai said and then a human around the same age as Atsuto with messy red spiky hair, a dark blue T shirt, white pants and crimson coat appeared behind him as well.

"Alright, let's see who we are going to face today!" Yuu spoke excited but once his eyes met those of Atsuto his jaw immediately dropped.

"What are you doing here?!" both Yuu and Atsuto shouted to one another.

The two Duel Heroes stared at each other with great amazement almost as if both had seen a ghost in each other.

"Um Atsuto…" Subaru hit the black haired Duel Hero in the rib with his elbow. "Just who is this guy?"

"He's Yuu, my fabulous partner." Atsuto replied.

"WHAT?! Atsuto, does this mean you're…"

"Oh no, not like that. He was my partner at tournament hosting."

"I see. But in that case, if Atsuto has been turned into a card, does that also mean…"

"Yes, mister stranger with Darkness civilization T shirt, I was also turned into a card by the same witch that cursed my friend Atsuto." Yuu scratched his head while smiling to Subaru.

"That's actually very interesting, wouldn't you agree?" the Doctor asked Subaru.

"Yes, it really is a strange twist of fate I guess." Subaru commented.

"Anyway, Yuu is a speed attacker, so I break one of your shields with him!" the samurai said while tapping the Fire/Nature creature card that had a cost of 3 and a power of 3000.

"We'll save our chats for later Atsuto." Yuu said while cracking his knuckles. "But for now it is time for us to duel!"

Yuu rushed from the samurai's dueling table, jumped in the air and his fist got surrounded by a raging flame as he punched through it tearing it to pieces. The shield shards went past Subaru and crushed into a tree. Then they disappeared and a card appeared in his hand.

"Boy that Yuu sure packs a punch…" Subaru remarked while sweating.

"Hehe, yeah, when we were hosting tournaments he was always the brawns while I was the brains." Atsuto explained and sweated as well upon seeing Yuu giving him an angry glare.

"Anyway Atsuto, I apologize for what I am about to do to your friend."

"What do you mean, Subaru?"

"I cast… Super Infernal Gate Smash and destroy Yuu!"

"Uh oh…" Yuu uttered and then he disappeared in a flaming explosion.

"Now that was not very nice of you." the Doctor criticized Subaru with a parent tone in his voice.

"This is the harshness of dueling, Doctor." Subaru excused himself and then he turned to his opponent.

"I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe." the samurai said and had a green horse like warrior wielding a shield and a large sharp fork appear behind him and cause the top card of his deck which was Blazing Tiger, Crimson Lord land in his mana zone. "I end my turn."

"Alright then, mister samurai, I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole which destroys Bronze-Arm Tribe and puts Volg Thunder in the battle zone!"

The horse like warrior exploded and then a purple hole appeared in the sky out of which a demonic red wolf wielding a blue sword descended and landed behind Subaru howling.

"With Volg Thunder's effect I choose my deck." Subaru said and the cards from the top of his deck started falling into the graveyard one by one, those being Persistent Prison of Gaia, Bone Dance Charger, Super Go On Pippi, Hades Death Gate, Hyperspatial Raiden Hole and Bolshack Superhero. "I end."

"Whatever you might be planning to do with that big graveyard of yours, I won't allow it to happen!" the samurai said while showing a 5 cost Fire spell. "I cast Hyperspatial Shooting Hole and put Gaial Kaiser in the battle zone!"

A red hole appeared in the sky and out of it a red armored dragon wielding two flaming yellow swords descended and landed behind the samurai face to face with its Darkness brother, Volg Thunder.

"You have… a Victory card…" Subaru gasped. "But they did not appear until the beginning of the twenty second century!"

"Hmm…" the Doctor started thinking on Subaru's statement and gave a look of curiosity to the samurai. "If what my assistant said is true, then this must mean that this samurai fellow…"

"Victory card? Twenty second century?" the samurai spoke in his mind. "Impossible. This can't be, can it?"

Then another image flashed in his mind.

_Rad was sitting in a classroom in front of a table filled with Fire and Nature cards belonging to the new DMR sets and he was picking cards for his own deck. Some of the cards he had chosen so far were Geo Bronze Magic, Cheering Pippi, Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper, Hyperspatial Gaial Hole and Gaial Kaiser._

"_Are you done picking, Rad?" a blonde boy that was a few years older than him and had a pony tail and warm blue eyes approached him dressed in a white Italian suit._

"_Not yet Hakuoh-sama, there are still so many great cards that can aid the deck that I want to build for Gaial King Dragon." Rad replied while searching for more cards._

"_Alright, but remember that you must also create a good environment for your Genji Double Cross, Temporal Swordsman." Hakuoh advised him and the red haired boy nodded to his teacher._

"_Don't worry I will try my best to build a deck that will bring down that witch Tabitha once and for all. Nobody messes with my friends and gets away with it!" Rad assured him and clenched his fist. "She will pay dearly for erasing Subaru's memories."_

The flashback ended and the samurai stared down at the table, at his Gaial Kaiser card, the other images that were appearing in his head finally making sense to him as he silently whispered:

"I remember… Hakuoh-sama and his apprentice, the Duel Masters summer school, the Duel Masters temple and… the chosen duelists… Edo, Sora, Tsugumi and Subaru…"

"Um mister samurai, are you done with your turn?" Subaru woke him up to reality.

"Oh yeah." the samurai uttered and tapped his psychic creature card. "Gaial Kaiser, double break his shields!"

The red armored dragon flew towards Subaru and slashed two of his shields with its swords. However the shield shards quickly united into two cards that went into the black haired teen's hand and one of them shined with a purple light as he showed it to his opponent and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Inferno Sign and revive Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger!"

A dark blue bipedal lion demon wielding two sharp blue swords and having a blue mane decorate its head along with two orange horns that were positioned as a V sign appeared in the battle zone and slashed all other creatures with its swords destroying Subaru's Atsuto and Volg Thunder and the samurai's Gaial Kaiser.

"What field cleanup…" the samurai spoke impressed.

"Thanks for the help, Raion." Subaru gave his creature a thumb up.

"Anytime, master." Raion winked back at its master and then the creature turned to the samurai opponent. "Subaru-sama, I think it is time you activated your combo."

"Good idea."

"Combo? What combo?" the samurai asked surprised.

"Oh you will soon see." Subaru replied while putting a Fire card onto one of his shields. "I fortify one of my shields with Galaxy Falcon, Counterattack Fortress and turn all my Hunters into speed attackers!"

"Since when did he use the Fire civilization so well?" the samurai thought and sweated with worry.

"And now I cast… Miracle Re Born!" Subaru exclaimed and showed a Darkness spell card with the cost of 5 that shined with a bright purple light. "With its effect I revive Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff!"

A horned red caped purple armored knight wielding two yellow laser guns, having a yellow X scar on its chest appeared behind Subaru and roared as its user searched his deck and tossed another Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff into his graveyard.

"And since Galaxy Falcon makes all my Hunters speed attackers, I attack with Zero Romanoff, cast Miracle Re Born and revive a second Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff!" Subaru said and then a second purple armored knight appeared behind him and caused another Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff card fall into his graveyard as the first one fired two shots from its purple guns and blasted off two of the samurai's shields. "Then I attack with my second Zero Romanoff, cast Inferno Sign and revive my third Zero Romanoff!" Subaru continued and this time he tossed a Miracle Re Born into his graveyard as the third purple knight appeared behind him and the second one blasted two more of the samurai's shields.

The samurai had taken cover from the attacks of Zero Romanoff but after the second wave of shots he saw a green light coming from one of his broken shields. He got up and picked the four cards that once were his shields and showed one of them to Subaru saying:

"Shield trigger, I cast Natural Snare and send your untapped Zero Romanoff to the mana zone!"

A green aura engulfed the third purple knight which screamed in pain as it disappeared and its card bounced off the battle zone and landed in the mana zone.

"Liger Blade, break his final shield!" Subaru ordered and his Raion jumped in the air and swung both its blades slashing off the samurai's last shield in an X position. "I end my turn."

"Darn, he has a great field advantage now. I'll have to finish this quickly!" the samurai thought while trying to hide his worry.

"Is there a problem? I said that I end my turn, mister samurai."

"Alright, then it's all or nothing!"

Suddenly the samurai's hand started glowing with the same red aura shaped like a flame from before as he drew his next card. Then seven cards in his mana zone tapped by themselves as he placed the card that he drew in the battle zone and said:

"I summon Bolbalzak Ex!"

A horned and white winged red armored dragon that had a flaming X scar on its chest and a large red sword in its right hand appeared behind him and made all seven mana cards of his untap. Afterwards six of them tapped once again as he also put another card in the battle zone.

"I also summon Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon!"

A red dragon, with a golden mane, that was dressed in red samurai armor and wielding two sharp swords that were shaped like crosses appeared next to Bolbalzak Ex.

"Oh no, two double breaking speed attackers in the same turn!" Subaru exclaimed.

"Exactly! Go, Bolbalzak Ex, break his final shields!" the samurai ordered and the white winged dragon flew towards the black haired duelist and used its sword to slash off his last two shields.

"I got no shield triggers…"

"Then Genji Double Cross, finish him off, todomeda!"

The dragon dressed in samurai armor jumped towards Subaru and aimed both of its swords at him ready to hurt him but then the sound of steel clashing resounded in the forest and caused birds to fly out of their nests. The cross shaped swords had collided with two blue swords and Genji Double Cross found Liger Blade sitting in his way. The demon gave the dragon a fierce glare and revealed its sharp lion teeth while saying:

"You will not harm my master, warrior of the Double Cross!"

"Stand aside, Hunter of the Darkness civilization, the match is over and my master has won!" Genji countered.

However Raion did not listen to the dragon and moved its right sword from the air freeing Genji's sword and stabbing him in the chest. The samurai dragon with blonde mane responded by stabbing Liger Blade in the neck with its free sword and both creatures disappeared in an enormous explosion.

"That was one epic match, egghead Subaru didn't lose his touch at all." the samurai thought while packing up his cards. "I bet he'll fall on his back when he sees that it's me behind this mask."

Suddenly yells came from behind Subaru and the Doctor. The two turned around and the samurai looked beyond them, all three having the shock of seeing the city that lied behind them burning with raging flames.

"What's going on there?" Subaru asked shocked.

"Oh no, the attack must've started sooner!" the samurai deduced and ran away past them heading to the flaming inferno.

"Attack? What is he talking about, Doctor?"

"It's the battle of Sunomata-gawa, of course, how could I forget?" the Doctor slapped his forehead. "It's one of the crucial battles from the Genpei War in which the Genji were defeated by the Heike."

As Rad was approaching the city, he felt the heat of the flames get stronger and the battle cries and screams of agony get louder. Once he reached the outskirts of the city a true landscape of carnage painted with blood and decorated with mutilated bodies greeted him mercilessly. Accompanying the screams of pain of the war's victims were the sounds of the wood that was burning off the houses of the innocent citizens.

"How could this have happened?" he asked himself and walked down the apparently lonely street that was filled with cadavers. "Our plan was to surprise attack the Heike's residence at the city hall. How did the battle even extend throughout the whole city?"

Not waiting for the answer to fall out from the sky, the young red haired warrior rushed towards the source of the battle cries which was the city hall. Even though the smoke coming from the fires was thick, his golden mask protected him from asphyxiation. There he saw that the number of bodies had increased but towards his shock he recognized most of them as belonging to his fellow Genji comrades. When he looked into the city hall he saw Koji facing off with three Heike samurais all while being surrounded by dozens of bodies belonging also to the Heike clan. Rad sighed in relief of seeing that his friend had survived the battle and was doing well.

"Surrender now to us and we might go easy on you, young man!" one of the Heike samurais ordered him.

"Never! I would rather die than bow down to scum such as your clan!" Koji shortly responded and attacked them with his sword.

The samurai from the middle went in a defensive position with his sword which clashed against Koji's. The other two rushed at the boy with both their swords intending to stab him in the ribs but he jumped in the air and all they managed was to stab each other in the stomach. The remaining Heike samurai watched with horror how Koji fell from the air and with just a swing of his sword the brown haired samurai decapitated him. Rad admired his friend's victory and intended to go and surprise him by joining the battle. Suddenly a rain of arrows came from the city hall and before he knew it, Koji got stabbed in the chest by four arrows and fell on the ground bleeding.

"Oh no!" Rad shouted and rushed inside the yard of the city hall. "No, no, no, this can't be happening!"

Upon reaching him, Rad quickly lay down and pulled each of the arrows carefully from his friend's body. Due to the pain Koji opened his eyes and he faintly saw his friend dressed in his battle clothes.

"Rad-kun, is that you?" Koji forced himself to speak.

"Yes, hang on, I will get you out of here and take you to the master. He will know how to heal you." Rad said while grabbing Koji in his arms and lifting him up.

"It's too late for that, Rad-kun, I have failed our mission." Koji pessimistically replied.

"Don't say that, Koji! You will be ok, I promise!" Rad desperately insisted.

"But don't worry, Rad-kun…" Koji continued and then he raised his head up and looked into his friend's red eyes. "You've got your life ahead. I will die in peace knowing that I have served my clan and my land. It saddens me to see that our paths are once again separated."

"Just don't say that, Koji… You're a strong fighter, you just have to survive!" Rad stubbornly denied.

"Farewell, Rad-kun."

Koji closed his eyes and Rad could no longer feel his pulse. The red haired samurai grabbed his friend's right hand, clenched his fist and yelled as loud as he could:

"KOJI!"

But right then and there a malevolent laugh resounded behind him. The samurai turned around and saw the archers of the Heike sitting at the balconies of the city hall ready to shoot a second wave and in the middle of them a blonde woman that had two large horns was sitting admiring the carnage while drinking a glass of wine.

"You…" Rad immediately recognized her.

And how much he wished to go there and slit her throat open but he could not. The numbers were stacked against him and there was nothing he could do about it. The only thing he could do was to run like a coward and endure the shame of losing the battle.

A second rain of arrows was launched but it did not reach the red haired samurai. Even though Rad was not that skilled as a swordsman, he impressed his Genji comrades with his running and dodging skills. Thus he managed to get as far away from the city hall as possible and even though when he looked back he saw a small detachment of Heike warriors pursuing him, he sought refuge in the deep forest where nobody could find him.

As he was running through the thick trees in his mind confusion reigned along with anger and desire for revenge. All of a sudden he hit his head on a lower branch and fell on the ground with the body of Koji over him.

When the samurai opened his eyes, he found himself lying on a bed with white sheets in a lighted metallic room. The Doctor was preparing tea at a table and he turned to him once he saw him get up from the bed.

"Oh look who's finally awake!" the Doctor said while bringing him a cup of tea.

"What happened? Where am I?" the samurai asked.

"You hit your head last night on a tree and got knocked out. You were lucky that I found you and brought you here. This is my TARDIS; you can consider it my home."

"Where is Koji?"

"I'm afraid that there was nothing we could have done for him." the Doctor spoke with a sorrowful tone in his voice. "Your friend is no longer between us."

"This can't be…" the samurai lowered his head and stared into nothing.

"I am sorry. My assistant is burying him as we speak at the Duel Masters temple at which you served."

The Doctor offered the samurai the cup of tea and he accepted it, raised his mask a bit and drank the hot liquid until there were only a few drops left. He turned the cup upside down and let the rest of the tea fall on the floor saying:

"May he rest in peace…"

"Well to be honest, I did notice something strange about you." the Doctor brought up and the samurai suddenly gasped shocked. "I know it's not the right time to bring it up, but the cards that you are using are way too advanced for this era. And besides that, you acted as if you knew my assistant. Not to mention that you were using that fellow Atsuto's partner in your deck."

"Well I…" the samurai mumbled as he sat back on the bed and watched the Doctor lower his head to his looking at him in the eye with a piercing stare.

"Just who are you?"

"I guess it's no point in hiding it anymore."

The samurai took off his mask and revealed his face to the Doctor.

"My name is Rad Flames and I was actually born in the far future. I was a rocket racing champion and I had also served the Duel Masters temple as the chosen fire duelist. Subaru, your assistant, was my friend and colleague and the reason I challenged him was because I wanted to see how his dueling skills had evolved."

"I see. Well, as I said before, I am the Doctor. Nice meeting you, Rad!" the Doctor happily spoke and shook hands with him. "But explain something to me – if you are from the same time as my assistant, then how did you end up here?"

"I… don't know… The last thing I remember of my time is Tabitha's Gallows Hellish Dragon burning me to a crisp. The next thing I know I woke up all hurt in a forest here."

"I see. Anyway, once my assistant comes back I will take you back to your time and…"

"Wait, no!"

"Is something the matter with my plan?"

"Yes… Doctor, when I watched my friend die, I also saw the one that killed me back in my time. I don't know how but Tabitha is the cause of this massacre."

"I see, so you wish to get even with her?"

"Exactly!" Rad spoke with determination dripping out of his eyes and voice.

"Well it looks like I have no way to stop you, so this must mean that I should aid you instead." the Doctor said and then he started walking in circles. "I just wonder how this Tabitha that you speak of got here. Unless… she managed to somehow sneak into the TARDIS!" the Doctor exclaimed and punched his palm. "That's it! She must have sneaked inside while I was out. It's the only explanation."

"So what are we going to do, Doctor?"

"Just like a Taxi, she will have to come back to the TARDIS sooner or later to go back home, but since the security systems were not able to detect her I doubt we will even sense her presence."

"Well what do you suggest then?"

"Fighting her in the TARDIS would be pointless. I say we go with my plan of taking you back to your time and then when she resurfaces there you will be able to have your way with her."

"I understand, Doctor." Rad complied and got up from the bed putting his mask back on. "Oh and one more thing, please don't tell Subaru that I am still alive, it would just complicate things for all of us. It's best that he knows that his friend Rad is dead and that I am just a samurai that is seeking vengeance for what that witch did to my clan."

"So in the end you chose the path of vengeance…" the Doctor remarked.

"Yes. This is the only way I can clean off the shame of running away from the battlefield and avenge my friends."

"But what will you do afterwards?"

"I don't know… Only time will tell."

"I see. In that case, I wish you good luck, Rad."

"No Doctor, Rad is dead. Call me… the wandering samurai."

The Doctor watched how the samurai put on his black vest, his sheath with his sword and walked out of the hospital room. He sighed and put the tea cup back to its place.

Later that day the samurai went to the temple of Duel Masters to bid farewell to his master and visit the grave of Koji. Afterwards he and Subaru walked back to the TARDIS which went back to the year of 2102. But as the Doctor had predicted, Tabitha had turned into a small spider and infiltrated the TARDIS as well being unnoticed.

* * *

_Rad(covering his face with the golden mask): So yes, this is my tale. Now that I am back in my own time I will go on my quest of finding and defeating that witch once and for all! Nothing is going to stop me from…_

_Edo(walking down the beach): Hello mister samurai! _

_Rad(stares at him for a few moments and then runs as fast as his legs can carry him): DON'T COME CLOSE TO ME YOU IDIOT!_

_Edo(looking around confused): Was it something I said?_

* * *

_[In the next chapter]:_

_As the Doctor goes with Subaru on a small space trip, Luna succumbs to her loneliness at the school as her projects take most of her time and nobody is there to comfort her with the exception of her teacher Wally. But will the painful loneliness awaken something that was deep hidden inside the blue haired girl? _


	4. The Rise of Luna

_Tabitha(sitting on a throne in her darkened palace): Greetings my future slaves, it is I, the great Tabitha Lenox, future ruler of the world! (drinks a glass of wine) You know if there is one thing that almost beats world domination in terms of being an exciting activity that without a doubt is finding new minions. What makes it more exciting is when these new minions were the opposite of what they would become. The job is fairly easy, all you have to do is seek the weakest point and exploit it the best you can. And this is exactly what I did…_

* * *

The full moon had risen once again upon the black nocturnal sky blessing the city with its silver rays. Obviously it was rather late and people at that hour were in their houses preparing to sleep. But the lights of a school building located in the middle of the high-tech city were still on as inside a laboratory a group of ten men dressed in lab coats were sitting comfortably on chairs alongside with a brown haired young male that was wearing a brown suit with a red tie and whose left eye was red and right eye green. His name was Wally and he had been a student of said school who graduated with high grades and had recently become both a teacher and the principal of that school upon the death of his master Hakuoh. Now he had gathered that group of scientists to show them the latest discovery of one of his former classmates and actual student Luna, who had just made an important discovery that would revolutionize both the science that the world knew today and the art of dueling.

Luna sat in front of a clean blackboard as the video projector was showing her hours of hard research on it. Her latest project included finding an alternative way of bringing the creatures to the human world as well as having humans travel to the creature world by themselves. During her research she had in mind the physics of the Earth and the universe, the so-called kaijudo energy that now lied in only a few duelists that owned the chosen Victory cards and the other planet lying in a far away galaxy in which the creatures lived. Basically her idea was to somehow store all the gathered kaijudo energy from a duel inside a device that they would then use to create a portal to the creature world. Sadly for her, the scientists in front of her had all been very busy with their own projects and they showed a great lack of interest towards her ideas and she could sense that.

When the presentation was over Wally coughed insistently and that made a few of the men dressed in lab coats applaud her faintly. Then the meeting ended with a few formalities and empty promises of sponsoring her project in the near future. The scientists then got up and left the laboratory looking rather relieved that the meeting had ended.

Luna sighed and packed up her materials as Wally walked to her clapping and congratulating:

"A great presentation! It was truly fascinating Luna, and hopefully in the near future we will be able to communicate with the creature world without the need of duels."

"Thank you, Wally-sama. At least you appreciate my hard work…" Luna replied with a saddened voice.

"I always know a good student when I see one." Wally winked to her. "And besides I always envied you for your knowledge back when we were both classmates."

"I see. Well thank you for your time and patience. I will see you in class tomorrow."

"Oh and one more thing, did you receive any news from Tsugumi, Subaru or Edo?"

Suddenly Luna's smile disappeared from her face and she lowered her head staring at the floor with her blue melancholic eyes. Ever since the chosen duelist team had dissolved and she resumed her studies, none of her friends had kept in touch with her, not even Tiger who was the closest to her. Time did not allow her to visit any of them and no matter how much she tried to send them messages or call them, she did not receive any response.

Wally understood that he had touched a sensible chord and quickly changed the subject:

"Never mind, I will try to find them some other day! So are you ready for the test tomorrow?"

"I guess…" Luna uttered.

"Not even a faint yes." Wally thought and then he spoke. "Anyway, it is getting late, you should go home."

The school's mechanical doors automatically opened as Luna approached them, a short metallic shriek indicating that they needed to be oiled. The schoolyard seemed deserted and saddened at night time as there was nobody to duel or spend quality time inside it. Dust had settled its new home upon the lonely empty benches and dueling tables. The blue haired girl made her way to the opened gates carrying a backpack on her back and holding two large books close to her chest. Even though it was rather cold in that autumnal night, she wore her sleeveless yellow shirt and her dark blue skirt.

Once she passed through the gates she turned around to look back at the school and saw that the only light that was still on was in the principal's office where Wally was working hard on his papers. Luna sighed and then she resumed her journey.

At that hour of the night it was dangerous for a young girl like her to walk all alone down the empty streets of the big city. But she did not care. She knew all the streets and the paths to get home quicker as well as the hideouts where muggers could wait for victims. Luna simply chose to walk up a cyber road even if it would take longer for her to reach her home. And as she wandered up there she was trying to call Tsugumi for the seventh time that day. But again she did not receive a response. It seemed that her efforts to reach out to her friends when she needed them proved to be in vain.

All of a sudden Luna changed her direction, no longer heading forward to her parents' mansion but instead going to the right where the beach was. She looked up at the sky and for the first time since she left the school she smiled. The blackened celestial bolt was beautifully decorated with the blue sparkles of the stars that surrounded the majestic moon which shone with its brilliance upon the quiet city. It was a lovely night to walk a moonlit field and see the softer shades that were by starlight revealed. Indeed it was a precious sight for the eyes but something was missing. Luna was the only one that was admiring it, all the others were inside their warm homes sleeping and waiting for the sunny morning. They were shunning the night's beauty in the same way that those scientists were shunning Luna's research. And then it hit her – she was a lonely and ignored gem in an ocean filled of ingrates.

As the former chosen water duelist descended from the cyber street to the sidewalk that would properly take her to the beach, she heard a noise coming from a tree. She turned her head to the source and was surprised to see a girl dressed in a hooded white robe with blue lines and a logo that represented the water civilization symbol. Her clothes seemed reminiscent to the robes that the members of THEM wore. The girl had just finished playing Gods of War on a console and now she was shouting victoriously:

"Yes, hahaha! You see Zeus? Your sore godly ass can't beat me!"

However she soon realized that she was being watched by the blue haired girl. Seeing that she had blown her cover, the robed girl jumped off the tree and landed in front of her saying:

"Hello Luna! Finally we get to talk to each other face to face."

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Luna shyly replied.

"My name is Mizu." the robed girl answered grinning under her hood. "I have been watching you for quite some time, former chosen water duelist."

"What do you want from me?"

"For now… a duel!"

The mysterious girl pulled out a deck that shined with a bright blue aura. Luna stepped back and gulped but then she caught enough courage and took out her own deck accepting the challenge. Two metallic dueling tables rose from the ground and the two girls walked to them, put their decks on them, set their shields and thus they began their match, the shields materializing only by Luna's side.

"I summon Hot Spring Crimson Meow and draw a card." Luna said and then a red and blue cat appeared behind her.

"I also summon Hot Spring Crimson Meow." Mizu said and drew a card, the creature not appearing by her side as well. "Heh, you're not the only one who mixes Water and Fire around here."

"You are also using this combination? Fascinating…"

"Leave the fascination for later girl, now you've got a duel to play!"

"Alright, then I summon Aqua Super Emeral and replace one of my shields with a card from my hand. Then I break one of your shields with Hot Spring Crimson Meow!"

A humanoid made of green water appeared by Luna's side and exchanged one of her shields with a card from her hand while the red and blue cat jumped at Mizu and slashed one of her holographic shields with its claws.

"My turn, I cast Brain Storm!" Mizu said and then she drew three cards and put two cards from her hand on the top of her deck. "I end here."

"She has arranged the top of her deck. What could she be up to?" Luna asked in her mind and then she spoke as she began her turn. "I generate Hot Spring Sabaki, Fire Water Sword and cross it to my Hot Spring Crimson Meow for free!"

"You're crossing a cross gear for free?! Since when is this possible?"

"This is the effect of my new cross gear Hot Spring Sabaki. And for the effect that it gives to my creature… whenever Hot Spring Crimson Meow attacks I destroy one of your creatures with 3000 or less and draw a card."

"Oh great, this is not good for my strategy…"

"Go, Hot Spring Crimson Meow, destroy her Crimson Meow and break a shield!"

Two swords appeared in the cat's frontal paws, a fire one for its left paw and a water one for its right paw. The two colored cat jumped in the air and used the fire sword to destroy the hologram of its clone that sat by Mizu's side and it also used the water sword to slash off another one of her shields. If anything, the hooded girl did not look happy at all that her creature got destroyed. However the shield shards united into a card that shone with a bright blue light and she showed it to her opponent saying:

"Shield trigger, I cast Cyber Hand and send Hot Spring Crimson Meow back to your deck!"

A pair of transparent water hands grabbed the cat that was equipped with swords and made it disappear as its card bounced off the battle zone and entered Luna's deck which shuffled itself. The blue haired girl then drew a card and watched how her opponent began her turn and said:

"My turn I summon Franz the 1st, Ice Fang and cast Brain Storm!"

Once again Mizu drew three cards and put two of them to the top of her deck.

"I cast Hyperspatial Energy Hole, draw a card and put Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows into the battle zone!" Luna said and then a red armored robotic Alien with three heads, fire arms and water throwers appeared behind her.

Mizu looked carefully at the card and noticed that it had a V symbol that was half blue and half red.

"A Victory card… So that's why she can bring them to our world." the hooded girl thought and then she turned to her opponent and said. "That doesn't seem to be quite pretty."

"My Pinky may not be a looker but he is a great help for my deck." Luna praised her avatar.

"We'll see about that. Anyway, continue your turn."

"Alright then miss Mizu, I cross Aqua Super Emeral with Hot Spring Sabaki. Then I attack with Aqua Super Emeral, destroy Franz the 1st and draw a card. Break her shield!"

The green liquid humanoid took the two swords that were wielded before by the cat and used them to destroy the hologram of Mizu's creature and another shield of hers. However this time a sly smile appeared on the cloaked girl's face.

"And now it is time for you to see my combo!" Mizu exclaimed while tapping the five cards in her mana zone. "I summon Franz the 1st, Ice Fang and cast Transmogrify!"

"Oh no…" Luna gasped upon seeing the Water spell.

"I would have used Transmogrify earlier but your stupid cross gear kept destroying my creatures. Anyway, I destroy Franz the 1st and reveal the top cards of my deck!"

The first card that Mizu revealed was Balga Raiser, the Dragonic Meteor which she put in the battle zone and the image of a fire winged black armored dragon wielding two swords appeared behind her.

"I put Balga Raiser in the battle zone and since he is a speed attacker I attack Aqua Super Emeral with him!" Mizu said and then she once again revealed the top card of her deck which was Spell Grand Blue, the Blue Tide. "Heh, with Balga Raiser's effect I put Spell Grand Blue in the battle zone!" the girl continued and then the image of a dark blue dragon that was wielding a flaming trident appeared behind her as well. "With Spell Grand Blue's effect I reveal the top card of my deck and if it is a spell I may cast it for free." and then her satisfaction grew as she saw that the card she revealed was a Water spell. "Perfect! I cast Spiral Gate and send Hot Spring Gallows back to the hyperspatial zone!"

"No, Pinky!" Luna exclaimed upon seeing the spiral of water surround her creature and making it disappear as the hologram of the black armored dragon slashed her green liquid humanoid and made it explode.

"It's your turn."

Luna was surprised that her planned beatdown had been ruined by Mizu's combo. Still, she had enough cards in hand to try and make a comeback.

"I summon Aqua Surfer!" Luna said and then a blue water humanoid riding a surfboard appeared above her. "Send Balga Raiser back to her hand!"

"Heh." Mizu laughed as the card got bounced into her hand.

"Then I cross Aqua Surfer with Hot Spring Sabaki and end my turn."

Mizu drew her next card, charged mana and put a Water creature that had the cost of six in the battle zone and said:

"I summon Amaterasu, Founder of the Blue Wolves. By its effect I cast Brain Storm from my deck!"

For a third time Luna watched Mizu drawing three cards and putting two cards to the top of her deck. But then Mizu also tapped a card from her battle zone and said:

"I attack with Spell Grand Blue and reveal the top card of my deck!"

The card that she revealed was Hogan Blaster which fell into her graveyard and caused her deck to shuffle itself and then reveal its top card which landed in her battle zone.

"By Hogan Blaster's effect I put Balga Raiser, the Dragonic Meteor in the battle zone! Spell Grand Blue, double break her shields!" Mizu ordered and the hologram caused two of Luna's shields to shatter and their cards to go to her hand. "Balga Raiser attack and activate your effect!"

The top card of Mizu's deck was Gallows Blissful Kaiser which was put in the battle zone as Balga Raiser's hologram broke two more of Luna's shields. And then the mysterious robed girl ended her turn.

Luna's situation had only become worse. She had lost four shields and none of the cards from her hand were good. Not only did Mizu avoid the shield which she swapped with Aqua Super Emeral but she also built her battle zone with powerful Dragons. She needed to end the duel quickly before her opponent would get a chance to finish her. All of a sudden Luna's hand got surrounded by a bright blue aura as she drew her next card. Seven cards in her mana zone tapped themselves and she put the card she drew on the table saying:

"I summon Immediate Effect! Hot Springs which is both a speed attacker and double breaker!"

A red and blue robotic Alien with two giant mouths on its shoulders appeared in the battle zone and rushed at Mizu breaking her last two shields as Luna tapped his card. However just as it finished its attack a blue light came from one of the cards that went to Mizu's hand and the girl showed it to her opponent and said:

"Shield trigger, I cast Cyber Hand and send Aqua Surfer back into your deck!"

"No!" Luna shouted as her blue surfer disappeared and its card flew back into her deck which shuffled itself and gave her a new card in her hand. "I end my turn..."

"And now my turn, I attack with Balga Raiser, break her final shield!" Mizu ordered but this time she did not receive a new creature in the battle zone because the card that she revealed was Cocco Lupia.

"Shield trigger activate!" Luna exclaimed and showed the card that was in her shield. "I cast Intense Vacuuming Twist!"

Luna looked at the top five cards of her deck and selected Doskoi Firststar which she showed to her opponent and added to her hand. Then she sent Spell Grand Blue, the Blue Tide back to Mizu's hand.

"Gallows Blissful Kaiser, todomeda!" Mizu ordered.

"Ninja Strike 4, I summon Falconer, Lightfang Ninja and block the attack!" Luna persisted.

"In that case… Amaterasu, finish the job, todomeda!"

Luna fell on the ground defeated with her cards on her. The former chosen water duelist lay there a few moments staring into nothingness and thinking about nothing. But she woke up when she saw Mizu's hand that was stretched in front of her with the wish to help her get up. She accepted her offering and got on her feet dusting herself.

"Thanks for the duel; I haven't met a strong opponent like you in years." Mizu complimented her.

"I am happy I could satisfy you…" Luna shyly spoke and then she leaned to the ground to pick her scattered cards.

"I have been watching you for some time, Luna. And believe me, I understand your frustrations. It must be hard for you to be all alone and ignored by everyone else but your teachers."

"Wait a minute, you have been stalking me?!"

"Yes, but I do not wish to harm you. If there is anyone that desires your harm… that is Tabitha Lenox."

"Tabitha Lenox? You mean the witch that my friends defeated?"

"Yes, she was sent to prison but she has recently escaped. She might return soon to this town and you need to be prepared for anything."

"And how can I trust everything that you said?" Luna asked and got up with her packed up deck in her right hand.

"Well I have told you everything that you need to know. Now it's all up to you to decide whether you want to straighten up now or find out the truth the hard way when it's all too late." Mizu answered and then she turned around and walked away.

"Wait! Come back here!"

But the robed girl ignored Luna's pleas and disappeared in a mysterious mist that surrounded her as soon as she entered a dark alley. Now that she was left all alone, Luna resumed her walk and ended on the lonely beach. There she took off all of her clothes and entered naked in the sea's waters bathing under the rays of the moon.

Meanwhile Mizu reappeared on the roof of a hotel looking at the beach where Luna's clothes were lying. The girl took out a phone, dialed a number and then waited a few moments until someone answered her call.

"How is it going?" a male voice asked.

"Quite well actually, it's just as you said – she is a great duelist. I think she is quite good enough to take care of herself." Mizu replied with satisfaction.

"Don't take the situation lightly. No one knows when something bad will happen."

"So what is the plan then, sir?"

"Wait patiently until I tell you when the time is right. For now let's see them play their move and then we will make ours."

"I understand."

"Stay sharp."

Mizu closed her call and then she caught another glance of the beach before leaving the roof of the hotel.

In the meantime Luna was relaxing her body in the cold waters of the sea reflecting upon the previous weeks. Since she was the only one from her team that returned to the school, she was not greeted well. Most of her colleagues still viewed the chosen duelists as the cause of the previous catastrophes that had hit the city and no matter how much she tried to prove that they were actually the heroes, she failed. In the schoolyard she was bullied for the fact that she was a chosen duelist, her classmates viewed her as a freak, and to top it off most of them also envied her intelligence and the fact that she was Wally's favorite. When she sought refuge and comfort in her friends and former teammates she received none. It didn't matter whom she called, she would get no response. And her tight schedule did not allow her to visit the chosen duelist UFO either. To make matters worse, her parents were gone from the city for a few months with business overseas, meaning that she could not talk to them either. Hope was lost for her. Besides Wally who was showing her some kindness, everyone that surrounded her was an ingrate that did not appreciate her for her qualities.

Suddenly Luna got up on her feet letting the water slide down her body. Her blue eyes fixed their sight upon the pale nocturnal sphere.

"Mother, I, your moonchild am so lonely here. Like you, I have been ostracized from them. Am I so wrong to wish that they could see things like I do? And am I so wrong to think that they might love me too?" Luna asked the moon and then she let her tears fall down her cheeks. "I was the chosen water duelist. I have fought to save this world from evil. Why shouldn't they adore me? Is not within my right?" Luna clenched both her fists that got surrounded by bright blue auras. "I will not be overshadowed, I am not a lesser chosen duelist!"

"I couldn't agree more, Luna!" an older feminine voice resounded behind her.

Luna turned around and saw a blonde woman dressed in purple clothes with a dark blue cape and a red crown with two large red horns. Luna gasped and covered her mouth with both hands. Then the shocked girl uttered:

"You must be… Tabitha Lenox…"

"Indeed I am, darling." Tabitha smiled friendly at her and slowly approached.

"What do you want from me?" Luna took a defensive position. "I warn you, I…"

"Me? I just want to talk to you, dear." Tabitha spoke with an innocent voice.

"Talk to me? About what exactly?" Luna skeptically asked still not convinced that the witch meant no harm.

"About you, Luna. I have seen all that you have been through in the past two weeks. Believe me; I truly understand how you feel. I was also like you."

"You were like me? How could an evil witch like you be…"

"I was also a misunderstood genius back in my days from ancient Egypt. Besides my master Cleopatra who took me under her wing as her protégé, everyone else viewed me as a freak. They condemned me for daring to use the forbidden black magic, they viewed me as a messenger of the evil gods, they cursed me and they tried to get rid of me. I was hated for being different and having a different worldview from the common man."

Luna could not believe it. In the words of Tabitha she found herself. It was almost as if the witch was describing the hell in which she, Luna, had been for the past two weeks, not the life of a three thousand year old woman.

"So you see Luna, you and I have more in common than you think." Tabitha concluded.

"That may be true, but why did you come over here to tell me this?" Luna asked still unsure of the witch's intentions.

"It is because I want to help you!"

"Help me? Why would you care about me?"

"I've got a better question, Luna. Why would you care about the chosen duelists?"

"Huh?!"

"Yes, I am talking about those rascals that pretended that were your friends and abandoned you the second they no longer needed you. Do you still think they care about you?"

"That is not true!" Luna panicked. "They were my friends. They always stood up for me when I couldn't. They always helped me when I needed them."

"Heh, if that is so, then where are they now, Luna?" Tabitha shortly laughed but then she changed her expression to a serious one. "Not here, that's where. They are just like the others – they use you while you are useful to them and the very next second they throw you out the window as if you are disposable. Don't you see, Luna? They cannot understand the complexity of your mind and soul."

"N-No, that is not true! You are lying…" Luna mumbled and made a few steps back.

"Look into your heart and you will see who the real liars are." Tabitha replied crossing her arms.

Inside Luna there was a huge battle going on between her two sides. Half of her still believed in the former chosen duelists as being her friends but they just simply did not have time for her. But the other half was fed up with all the loneliness and was convinced that even they abandoned her like the rest. That side slowly began to take over. Luna opened her teary eyes and looked at the beach, more specifically at the phone that was lying on her blue skirt along with her deck.

"I've waited long enough now for them all to come back to me…" Luna said with a both sad and firm voice.

"Excellent." Tabitha thought and then she offered her hand to the blue haired girl saying. "Join me, Luna, and together we will make them all see the power of our knowledge! It is time for you to be reborn and take what is rightfully yours!"

"Tiger, Tamma, Subaru, Edo and Tsugumi may plead and threaten me…" Luna spoke with an angered voice and then she grabbed Tabitha's hand tightly. "But this time I will stand my ground!"

All of a sudden a dark cloud came out of Tabitha's hand and surrounded Luna's naked body dressing her up with a diamond armor that covered her belly and chest, a dark blue skirt that covered her pubic region and feet, long diamond gloves and boots and a sharp support for her left shoulder that was also made of diamond. Then the blue haired girl kneeled in the water and the witch put a silver crown with obsidians on her head saying:

"With this simple act I crown you, Luna Mikado, as Empress of the Moon! From this moment on you will serve me, Tabitha Lenox, and together we will bring eternal night upon your new lunar empire from the human world!"

Finally Tabitha brought a scepter that had a blue blade in its top. She first touched Luna's naked right shoulder with the scepter and then she offered it to the girl concluding her speech:

"And now arise, Empress Luna!"

The freshly crowned Empress got up from the water and then she turned to the moon envisioning it as the planet Earth which was covered fully in darkness.

"All will know the wonder of my darkened jeweled sky when the entire world is wrapped in an eternal lullaby!" Luna threatened.

"Indeed they will!" Tabitha added and offered Luna a dark blue deck case. "Take this, it used to be my deck but I think that you will put it to much better use."

"What kind of deck is this?" the blue haired Empress asked as she grabbed it with her right hand.

"These are the Lunatic Gods!" Tabitha exclaimed excitedly. "Two of your so called 'friends' are now at their UFO. You may go there and say hi while I prepare the next phase of our plan."

"It will be a pleasure."

Fifteen minutes later at the chosen duelist UFO due to the fact that Subaru and the Doctor were out traveling in space, the corridors were emptier than usual. Edo headed to the kitchen humming the melody of the 99 Bottles of Beer song. But his good mood faded away as he saw Tsugumi lying hurt at the entrance of the kitchen with her whole deck scattered on the floor. The brown haired boy rushed to her and shook the girl but she did not wake up.

"Tsugumi! Wake up!" Edo shouted in her ear desperately.

"It is no use." a familiar female voice came from the kitchen.

When Edo turned his head to the source of the voice he had the shock of seeing Luna, his closest friend, dressed up in her new armor and sitting by a dueling table as a horrifying creature that he recalled belonging to the Water and Darkness civilizations disappeared behind her.

"Luna… is that you?" the stunned Edo asked.

"Yes Edo Kanda, it is I, the one that you once knew as Luna Mikado." the girl replied with a cold tone in her voice.

"What happened to you?" the brown haired boy asked while slowly entering the kitchen.

"I have decided to follow my true destiny… as the Empress of the Moon."

"Haha, good joke Luna, now seriously, what's going on here?"

"I am not joking, you insolent fool!" Luna yelled at him and hit the floor with her scepter causing an energy wave that hit Edo and threw him at the kitchen door where Tsugumi was lying. "For your information, I have joined Tabitha Lenox, the Queen of Evil, and together we are going to build our empire upon this world."

"No, this can't be happening…" Edo suddenly mumbled with despair and fear as he forced himself to get up. "Not you… You're Luna, you're a nice girl and you're not a monster…"

"Face it Edo Kanda, we all are monsters. I simply chose to accept my condition as one."

Edo took another good look at Luna and saw that gone was the shy and warm look in her eyes, that being now replaced by a menacing cold stare that desired revenge more than anything else.

"Why?" Edo mumbled. "Why us? What have we done to you?"

"You chose to abandon me after all I had done for you. And now you will pay for your decision!" Luna said while showing her glowing deck.

"This is not real… this must be a nightmare… you can't be our Luna…"

"Deny it all you want, but deep down inside you know the real truth."

Edo took a good look at Luna and then at the wounded Tsugumi. In the end he clenched his trembling right fist and leaned down at the blonde girl taking back the Aqua Attack (BAGOOON Panzer) that he lent her.

"Luna… I challenge you to a duel!" Edo said while sliding the card back in his deck.

"Heh, and you decided to take one of Tsugumi's Victory cards so that you could kaijudo duel? You will soon see that thanks to Tabitha's power I don't need any Victory card to summon creatures in this world!" Luna mocked him.

"Duel start!" both shouted and five shields rose above them both thus beginning the duel.

After the first turns Luna had Melgainer, Electro-Spectre and Moora, Emperor of the Gods in the battle zone while Edo had Aqua Hammer Price on his field.

"I attack with Melgainer and since I have a God in the battle zone I draw a card. Go, Melgainer, break his shield!" Luna ordered and the hybrid between a Liquid People and a Hedrian flew towards Edo and used its two swords to slash off one of his shields.

"I summon Aqua Super Emeral and replace a shield with a card from my hand. Then I attack with Aqua Hammer Price and we play Hardcore Judge!" Edo said and then both he and Luna revealed the top cards of their decks, he having Aqua Naruto Surfer and the Empress having Terror Pit. "7 VS 6, I win and draw a card. Now go, Aqua Hammer Price, break her shield!"

The water humanoid swung its giant blue hammer and used it to break one of Luna's shields to pieces.

"My turn, I summon Fuuma Gorgonshack!" Luna said and then a blue creature with snakes for hair that resembled the gorgons appeared by her side. "Now all spells cost two more to cast!"

"Not good!" Edo thought while looking at the cards in his hand which were Energy Stream, Hyperspatial Energy Hole, Crystal Super Paladin and Hyperspatial White Blue Hole.

"Melgainer, suicide with Aqua Hammer Price and let me draw another card!"

"Block the attack, Aqua Super Emeral!"

Both cards bounced off the battle zones and landed in their owners' graveyards. The next card that Edo drew was Aqua Surfer. He was in a rather unpleasant situation. He could not summon his creatures due to their high cost and he could not cast his spells either due to the effect of Fuuma Gorgonshack. Sighing, he placed Hyperspatial Energy Hole in the mana zone and tapped his remaining creature saying:

"I attack with Aqua Hammer Price and we play Hardcore Judge!"

The top card of Edo's deck was Tajimal, Vizier of Aqua while the top card of Luna's deck was Inferno Sign. It was 3 VS 5 so Edo lost this time and could not activate his creature's effect. Still, he got to break another shield.

"And now it is time to signal your demise!" Luna announced while placing a card upon her middle shield. "I fortify one of my shields with Original Heart, the New Moon Pulses!"

"Wait a minute; I've seen that card before!" Edo remarked.

"Yes, Tabitha-sama used it against Subaru and also against Tamma's predecessor. But now I will unleash its powers against you!"

"So what does it do?"

"Whenever one of my creatures attacks I may put a creature with 'Emperor of the Gods' in its name in the battle zone. Also, whenever I put a God in the battle zone I may draw a card."

"Uh oh…"

"I attack Aqua Hammer Price with Moora, Emperor of the Gods and using the effect of Original Heart I put Mani, Emperor of the Gods in the battle zone! I draw a card thanks to my fortress and then I link Moora with Mani and draw another card thanks to Mani's effect. Now Moora Mani, destroy Aqua Hammer Price!"

"This is really bad news!" Edo barely spoke upon seeing his creature crushed by the two linked Gods.

"Then I attack with Fuuma Gorgonshack and with the effect of Original Heart I put Adge, Emperor of the Gods in the battle zone, draw a card, and link him with Moora Mani! Go, Fuuma Gorgonshack, break his shield!" Luna ordered and the blue gorgon like creature took down another one of Edo's shields. "I end my turn. Let's see what you've got now, Edo Kanda."

The situation was getting worse for Edo with each move that Luna made. Her God was almost complete and none of his cards could help him in his situation. Still, he chose to go with what he could use and hope for the best.

"I summon Aqua Jester Loupe and use its Chain effect!" Edo said and then he revealed the top card of his deck which was Aqua Hulcus. "I put Aqua Hulcus in the battle zone and draw two cards, one for its effect and one for Aqua Jester Loupe's effect. I end my turn."

"And this will be your final turn!" Luna declared with her menacing voice. "I summon Ana, Emperor of the Gods and link it with Adge Moora Mani!"

A blue light shone behind Luna and the devilish atrocity that had defeated Tsugumi materialized in the room under the sight of Edo's shocked eyes. The fiend that represented the four united Lunatic Gods was half purple and half blue, symbolizing the two civilizations that it belonged to – Darkness and Water. The bottom consisted of a black and a blue dragon-like creature, each with three heads and both united. The upper side consisted in a giant black dragon-like head at the right and three long blue dragon-like heads in the left. The creatures roared so loud that the glasses of the kitchen broke.

"Meet your doom Edo Kanda, the fully linked Lunatic Gods – Adge Ana Moora Mani, Emperor of the Gods!" Luna exclaimed.

"Luna, please stop it! This is not you!" Edo begged.

"Go Adge Ana Moora Mani, double break his shields!"

The bottom heads spat lasers from their six mouths and took down two of Edo's shields.

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Mr Aqua!" Edo said.

"And now I untap them and attack with them again! Break his final shield!" Luna ordered and this time the upper trio of blue dragon heads spat lasers from their mouths and took down Edo's last standing shield.

"Shield trigger, I summon Corteo, Spirit Knight and tap Fuuma Gorgonshack!" Edo said.

"Is that all, oh great Edo Kanda?"

"I'm afraid yes, Luna…"

"Fool, it is Empress Luna to you! And now say good night at this, the fall of the chosen duelists - Adge Ana Moora Mani, todomeda!"

In the next moment Adge filled its mouth with a powerful purple beam which it then cast upon Edo who did not even bother to block the attack and chose to receive the full blow. While flying in the air burning and with tears falling from his eyes, he silently spoke:

"Please come back to us, Luna…"

The brown haired boy landed wounded next to Tsugumi. He opened his eyes and saw Empress Luna sitting in the middle of the kitchen holding her scepter with her Lunatic Gods behind her looking like a demon in the night.

"Luna…" Edo barely spoke.

"Your final light of hope is gone now." the girl coldly replied to him. "Tomorrow dawns in darkness, the night time has begun!"

Empress Luna's eyes shined with a blue light. The lights in the kitchen turned off and darkness fell upon them, her maniacal laughter filling the room.

* * *

_Tabitha(finishing her glass of wine): And yes, this is how I have managed to get Luna by my side. With her brilliant mind in my hands, conquering the world will be easier! And now it is time to start the next phase of my plan…_

* * *

_[In the next chapter]:_

_The Doctor and Subaru arrive at the UFO to find Luna changed into Tabitha's new minion and their friends hurt. Her master makes her appearance to the scene as well and thus the battle between good and evil once again begins. But what plans does Tabitha have cooking now?_


	5. Evil appears

_Mizu(playing a gameboy advance in a tree): Oh yeah, a new high score! (looks at the camera) Oh hello there, I didn't know you were here. (puts the gameboy advance in her robe's pocket and jumps off the tree) If there's anything that I hate, that's when a plan goes wrong. I never expected that Luna girl to be that weak inside for the strong duelist that she is on the outside. She should be ashamed of giving in to that witch's lies so easily. But I'm probably getting ahead of myself._

* * *

It was past midnight and the moon was still reigning upon the black celestial bolt with its silver rays. Sitting on the roof of a building in the center of the city, the wandering samurai could see everything that was going on in the city. Even though night had fallen and most inhabitants were resting in their houses, there were still a couple of lights shining through the darkness of the streets upon which one or two people that still had to work at night wandered. The samurai sighed. It was so hard for him to believe that after all he had been through in Feudal Japan he was once again back at his home, and all thanks to a strange man that called himself the Doctor.

"Have you finished your deck yet?" a male voice resounded behind him.

The samurai turned around and saw Duel Hero Yuu approaching him while dusting his long coat.

"Not yet, I still have to add some support cards for my new trump." the samurai replied and then he sat on his knees and looked at a pile of Fire, Nature and Water cards.

"I still do not understand you, Rad. Why do you even trust that Doctor guy?" Yuu asked and also sat on his knees looking at the cards.

The samurai reflected upon the Duel Hero's words and then he took off his mask and sighed.

"I'm not sure. I think it's because he showed interest in helping me get even with that witch." Rad answered and then he picked a Water card. "But I still don't get it why he would give me this card. Cosmo Cebu Lambda, the Super Electromagnetic…"

The red haired teen closed his eyes and recalled the moment he got out of the TARDIS once the Doctor brought him back at his own time.

"_Wow, this is amazing!" the samurai exclaimed upon seeing the shiny futuristic city that was obviously reeking with technology. "I remember… that I lived here…"_

"_Yes, it's as you said, this is your home." the Doctor replied. "Now listen, before you start sightseeing I want to ask you a favor."_

"_A favor? What is it, Doctor?"_

"_I will take you a few months back in time and I want you to stop a certain someone from killing an innocent man."_

"_Who are you talking about?"_

"_You don't know the victim, but the killer goes by the name of Tigra."_

"_I remember her… she is the leader of THEM."_

_The Doctor nodded in agreement to what he said and the samurai grabbed his sheath with his left hand and his sword's handle with his right hand ready to pull it out but then the Doctor's calm hands stopped him from doing so._

"_But before you do so, I wish to leave you a gift." _

"_What kind of gift?"_

"_This…" the Doctor said while pulling out three copies of Cosmo Cebu Lambda, the Super Electromagnetic. "While I was searching through my assistant's cards my eyes got set on this beauty. I think it might fit in your deck."_

"_Gee… thanks Doc?" the samurai shyly spoke while taking the gift. "Anyway, let's get going, we've got a Tigra to stop!"_

Rad opened his eyes and then he turned his sight to the cards saying:

"Anyway, that isn't important now. Let's finish this deck!"

"From the looks of it, what you are trying to build is a Lambda Beat deck." Yuu remarked. "Though wait a minute, how come I am not between the candidate cards?"

"I'm sorry Yuu, but I was thinking that this sort of deck needs to rely more on mana acceleration and less on small speed attackers." Rad apologized. "But don't worry, now that we are back in our time you are free to do whatever you want. I won't keep you as my creature anymore."

The former chosen fire duelist searched his pocket and pulled out three copies of the card Yuu, Passionate Duel Hero which he then offered to the red haired Duel Hero that stood in front of him.

"As a matter of fact, take these; they're probably better off in your hands."

"Gee, I don't know what to say…" Yuu replied modestly while taking them.

"A simple 'thank you' is enough." Rad said smiling and then he returned to his cards. "I got enough mana acceleration cards, hyperspatial spells and some nifty Water shield triggers. I guess that what I need now are some good finishers."

"Well there are always your favorites – Bolbalzak Ex and Genji Double Cross." the red haired Duel Hero pointed out and pushed the cards towards the pile.

"Indeed. As for psychic creatures… damn, I don't have many useful ones!" the former chosen duelist complained and then he picked two psychic creature cards. "And my only Victory cards are Gaial Kaiser and Red ABYTHEN Kaiser. The Doctor said that in order to defeat Tabitha I will need more of the Proof's power, and this power now resides in those Victory cards…"

All of a sudden a strange pulse wave hit Rad in the back. The two Victory cards that he was holding had their V symbols shine with red lights. Yuu looked confused at what was going on but Rad put on his samurai masked and packed up his new deck in a hurry.

"What's going on?" the Duel Hero asked.

"I feel as if some Victory cards are close by." the samurai replied and then he looked down at the street to see a blonde teenager dressed in a black shirt, a green vest and a pair of white pants wander down the street. "Heh, and I was right!"

In the next moment the samurai jumped off the roof of the building and fell ten levels landing on his feet in front of the blonde teen that had stopped a few moments before almost as if he had expected him. When the wandering samurai took a better look at him, he saw that he also wore a dark green hat and that his vest had the symbol of the Nature civilization on.

"And just who might you be?" the blonde asked unimpressed.

"I'm just a samurai. Now let's cut this short – I want your Victory cards here and now!" the samurai quickly demanded.

"Tsh, and why should I give them to a freak like you?"

"Let's say that you should so that I wouldn't be forced to use violence."

The wandering samurai pulled his sword out of the black sheath and he intended to aim it at the blonde teen's neck but his opponent kicked his arm and made him drop the red blade in an alley causing two trash cans to fall and scaring a cat.

"Nice reflexes." the samurai complimented but then he also took out his deck. "However let's see if you're also that good in a duel!"

"No problem." the blonde boy replied while pulling out his deck as well.

"By the way, who do I have the honor of facing?"

"Heh, the name's Tiger. Beware, samurai boy, for this kitty bites hard!"

"We'll see about that… Duel start!"

Meanwhile Tabitha appeared in front of the UFO that was parked on a grassy field near the outskirts of the city. The witch admired the flying vehicle and then in her mind she reminisced the old times of that ship. She remembered seeing it for the first time when she arrived at Rezo's castle, then she remembered how she and the demon with human form Shagrath conjured up spells that they cast upon it, then there was the final battle between the chosen duelists and Rezo in which that UFO took the heroes to the Red Priest's castle in space, afterwards there were the times when Tabitha was working with Mutsuhito Geki and she had seen the spaceship which was Tsugumi Shirayama's hideout on more than one occasion, then came the psychic creature hunt and the Zeta Wars in which that UFO served as a shelter for the citizens that were trying to escape the wrath of Devil Diabolos Zeta. The last memory that she had of it was the first time she, Tabitha Lenox, had entered the UFO of the chosen duelists and shook hands with Rad, the chosen fire duelist, thus concealing an alliance between the two sides in order to stop Rezo and the Unknowns.

Tabitha opened her eyes and once again set her sight upon the mighty flying contraption. The wind blew against her making her long blonde hair and dark blue cape flow.

"How quickly three years passed… and I feel like it was yesterday when I arrived at Rezo's castle. For a bunch of annoying brats, those chosen duelists were actually quite entertaining and pretty strong. Now I wonder… if I did not break our alliance back then… how would things have been different?" the witch took into consideration.

"Tabitha-sama!" Empress Luna exclaimed upon leaving the UFO.

"Ah Luna!" Tabitha also exclaimed as she saw her minion. "How was your mission, darling?"

"Everything went perfectly!" the blue haired Empress said while kneeling in front of her master. "I have defeated Tsugumi and Edo and now both are out of the game."

"Excellent! Now come, Luna, we've got one more important thing to do at this place."

"Huh? What business do we still have here?"

"You will see."

Back at the city, Tiger and the samurai had begun a kaijudo duel in the middle of the street. Both sat at their dueling tables with five shields to protect each.

"I summon Dreaming Moon Knife and by its effect I put Red Scorpion, Electro-mech in my mana zone tapped." the samurai said.

"I charge mana and end." Tiger did his turn quickly.

"I summon Evolution Totem! By its effect I take Cosmo Cebu Lambda, the Super Electromagnetic from my deck to my hand!"

The cards from the samurai's deck got up one by one until the mentioned Water evolution creature got out of it and went into his hand. Afterwards the deck shuffled by itself.

"Water and Nature, huh? A strange combination if you ask me." Tiger commented.

"Well nobody asked you." the samurai replied coldly.

"Tsh, then I guess I should show you how Fire and Nature work together. I cast… Faerie Gift, and by its effect I make the next creature that I summon cost two less. Then I summon Come On Pippi!"

The samurai gasped upon seeing the creature. He had used it before and he knew its effect and what kind of creatures it would further bring in the battle zone. But to see it so early in the game amazed him.

"I put Victorious Meteor Kaiser in the battle zone!" Tiger said and then a blue armored dragon with a fire horn as his nose and a flaming sword wielded by its tail appeared behind him and roared. "Now all of your mana will be put tapped."

"Nice little trick you got there, I'm impressed." the samurai brought another compliment while putting Aqua Surfer in the mana zone tapped. "However, I also got tricks up my sleeve!"

"Heh, show off."

The other four mana cards tapped themselves and the samurai showed a Water spell saying:

"I cast Intense Vacuuming Twist!"

"Oh crap…" Tiger whispered and he watched the samurai how he looked at the top five cards of his deck.

"I take Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon to my hand and send Victorious Meteor Kaiser back to the hyperspatial zone!" the samurai said and then the blue armored dragon got surrounded by a yellow water spiral and disappeared.

"So you're using Water, Nature… and Fire?"

"Yes, in case you haven't noticed I am more of a Fire duelist, beast boy."

"Then I certainly hope you like firepower!"

"Firepower?"

"I cast… Hyperspatial Red Green Hole and by its effect I put Boost, Crimson Lord in the battle zone!" Tiger said and then a red tiger wearing a golden armor appeared in the battle zone and used its sharp jaws to devour Dreaming Moon Knife. "By Boost's effect I destroy Dreaming Moon Knife. Then I end."

"Alright, my turn, I evolve Evolution Totem into Cosmo Cebu Lambda, the Super Electromagnetic!" the samurai said while placing the Water card upon the Nature one.

A dark blue robotic Alien that lacked a head and had three pairs of light blue wings appeared in the battle zone by the samurai's side.

"Wait a minute, since when did Nature creatures evolved into Water creatures? Hell, those two don't even share the same race!" Tiger noticed.

"True, but Cosmo Cebu Lambda evolves on Fire or Nature creatures." the samurai explained and then he tapped the card. "And now I attack with Cosmo Cebu Lambda and use its meteorburn to send Evolution Totem to the graveyard and draw three cards. Go, Cosmo Cebu Lambda, double break his shields!"

The robotic Alien waved its hands and created a blue energy ball which it cast upon two of Tiger's shields breaking them to pieces. However Tiger was not intimidated. He would not give up so easily even if the samurai in front of him had proven to be a stronger opponent than he expected.

"I cast Hyperspatial Faerie Hole which puts the top card of my deck to the mana zone and brings Jin, the Ogre Blade ~Crimson Rage~ in the battle zone!" Tiger said and then a white wolf armored warrior with flaming wings and a flaming sword appeared in the battle zone.

"From the looks of it this might be your avatar or at least one of your trumps." the samurai commented.

"Yes, this is Tora."

"Nice name you got him, buddy. But sadly I'm afraid that I now have to end this and your avatar will see it!"

The samurai selected Jasmine, Mist Faerie from his hand and put it under Cosmo Cebu Lambda. Then he drew a card, charged mana and put a Fire and Nature card in the battle zone saying:

"I summon Bolbalzak Ex and by its effect I untap all my mana!"

"This is so not good…" Tiger thought.

"Afterwards I summon Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon!" the samurai said and then a red dragon with a golden mane who was wearing a samurai armor and wielding two cross shaped swords appeared by his side along with a red armored white winged horned dragon that had a flaming X scar on its chest. "And now Tiger, meet Genji, my avatar!"

"Tsh, you and your Dragons…"

Tora and Genji looked each other in the eye for a few moments as silence fell upon the battle field. But then the samurai tapped his Water card and sent Jasmine to the graveyard in order to draw three more cards.

"Cosmo Cebu Lambda, double break his shields! Bolbalzak Ex, break his final shield!" the samurai ordered and in a couple of seconds all of Tiger's shields were gone.

"Why you little…" Tiger growled.

"Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon, todomeda!"

The samurai dragon jumped in the space between the two tables and rushed at Tiger swinging both its swords and slashing him leaving both an X mark on his clothes and an X scar on his chest. The blonde duelist was thrown in the air and landed a few feet away from his dueling table with his cards scattered on the street.

With the duel being over, the creatures disappeared and the samurai packed his cards and headed to his defeated opponent. He took a good look at the Fire and Nature cards from Tiger's deck and noticed that they were basically mana acceleration cards and spells and creatures that helped him bring psychic creatures out. The only card that was out of the ordinary to him was Faerie Gift, the spell that reduced the cost of creatures. And he understood why after seeing Tiger use it in action.

"Heh, your Faerie Gift and Come On Pippi combo is good. Oh look, you also have a Geo Crashing Miranda, the Dimensional Force, presumably for the same reason. I guess you won't need these cards too soon." the samurai said while picking up the cards he mentioned.

Afterwards the samurai turned his sight to the psychic creatures and he noticed that there were a good number of Victory cards between them. But sadly the ones that received the power from the Proof were just Forever Meteor Kaiser and Jin, the Ogre Blade ~Crimson Rage~. The other Victory cards were Victorious Gaial Kaiser and Victorious Meteor Kaiser.

"You're lucky I don't need that Jin, but Forever Meteor Kaiser will be a nice addition to my deck." the samurai said while picking the Fire psychic creature that had a cost of 6 and a power of 6000. "And oh look, you have the three bits of the legendary Gaial Ore Dragon, the Vainglory! I always wanted to get to see him in action, but I guess that I will have to put him in action myself."

And so the samurai also took Tiger's Victorious Gaial Kaiser, Victorious Pudding Pudding and Victorious Meteor Kaiser. He then introduced his new prizes inside his deck and bowed down in front of his defeated opponent saying:

"Arigatou gozaimasu."

With those words being given, he got up and left the scene disappearing in the dark alley. There he met up with Yuu who had found his sword and gave it back to him.

"That was a great duel! I loved the way your new deck works!" Yuu affirmed in awe.

"Hopefully with this new combo that I discovered, I'll be able to stall my opponent." the samurai replied while placing his sword back in his sheath. "Anyway, I guess that this is where our ways part now."

"If that's so, then I guess I'm back to tournament hosting. I wonder if my apartment is still in one piece."

"Take care, Yuu, and make sure you don't bump into Tabitha again or next time she might turn you into a frog and not a card."

"Hehe, I understand… You take care too, Rad, and make sure you defeat that witch!"

The samurai nodded to the Duel Hero and then he rushed deeper in the alley disappearing in the shadows and leaving him alone.

At the UFO Tabitha and Empress Luna had barged into the room of Subaru and Tsugumi. The Empress sat at the door with her arms crossed and holding the scepter in one of her hands while Tabitha searched the room for something. The witch opened drawers, looked under the bed, under the tables and even in the bathroom but she did not find it. Then she opened the wardrobe and looked deep inside moving aside all of Tsugumi's dresses and Subaru's shirts. After a couple of minutes she walked out of the wardrobe with a large box that was filled with cards. Tabitha put it on the bed and Luna approached her asking:

"What is inside it, Tabitha-sama?"

"The cards of Subaru Geki, and these are what I need in order to build my new deck." Tabitha replied and then she made the card of Zeta-File, Zenith of "Mystery" appear in her right hand. "And now let us open our treasure, shall we?"

Suddenly a dagger went past Tabitha's cheek almost slicing through her skin and ended up stuck in a wall. The duo turned behind and saw a girl dressed in a cloaked white robe with the symbol of the Water civilization sitting at the door.

"Didn't anyone teach you it is unruly to barge into someone else's UFO, give them a trashing and steal their stuff?" the girl asked them with an arrogant tone in her voice.

"And just who do you think you are to lecture us?!" Tabitha asked frustrated.

"I recognize her, she is a strange girl called Mizu that dueled me a few hours before for some reason." Empress Luna recalled.

Mizu got shocked when she saw who was the one helping Tabitha. It was none other than Luna, the former chosen water duelist that she had just warned about the danger of the recently escaped witch. And yet she did not heed the warning and gave into Tabitha's promises.

"Luna… what are you doing?" Mizu asked amazed of seeing the girl's looks changed.

"It is Empress Luna to you!" the blue haired girl replied coldly.

"Take care of her." Tabitha snapped her fingers and then she returned to the card filled box.

"As you command, Tabitha-sama." Empress Luna replied and then she pulled out her deck that got surrounded by a dark blue aura.

"I can't believe that you would betray your friends and join the enemy." Mizu stated while pulling out her own deck as well which got surrounded by a blue aura. "I guess there's no turning back… I will stop you by any means necessary!"

"Heh, you cannot stop the Empress of the Moon! And now let's begin this – duel start!"

Two dueling tables rose from the floor on the corridor and the two girls walked outside of the room and sat at them ready to begin the match. Meanwhile Tabitha opened the box and emptied it making all of Subaru's cards land on the bed. The image of a white serpent like demon that was wielding golden swords with its skeletal arms, had two pairs of white horns, one which resembled wings, the creature also had a pair of white angelic wings on its back and a green crystal shining majestically in its chest appeared in front of her.

"So in the end you have resorted to his cards I see." the creature remarked.

"Your new effect involves Demon Commands and this Geki brat has not only an impressive collection by himself but he also inherited Kokujo Kyoshiro's Demon Commands! I think it's only fair that I borrow some for my own gain, Zeta-File."

"I see. You are aware that my effect recycles them from the graveyard, right?" Zeta-File asked.

"Yes, and this is why the suicide-destroyers like Deathraios, Cursed Blade Reaper, Zabi Olzekia, Demonic Sword General and Olzekia, General of Decapitation are on my top list." Tabitha replied while taking the mentioned cards. "Heh, for some protection I think I'll also take Hanzou, Menacing Phantom."

"I suggest that you not limit yourself only to destruction, Tabitha Lenox. There are also Demon Commands that have other effects when put into the battle zone. For example, Gajirabute, Vile Centurion puts one of the opponent's shields to the graveyard and Gal Volf, Dark Wolfblade while doing the same thing he also makes the opponent discard a card."

"You have a good point there, buddy. I guess that these guys won't hurt at all. Oh and also, I am thinking of another way of getting Demon Commands in the graveyard in case I won't be able to draw you."

"And what might that be?"

Tabitha leaned to the bed and then she picked up a Darkness card that had the cost of 7 and the power of 6000 which she showed to Zeta-File while putting an evil grin on her face. The card's name was Bell Hell De Gaul, Footprint of the Reaper.

On the corridor the duel between Empress Luna and Mizu had begun.

"I cast Emergency Typhoon." Empress Luna said and she drew two cards and discarded Ana, Emperor of the Gods.

"I cast Brain Storm." Mizu said and she drew three cards and put two cards to the top of her deck.

"Time to slow you down – I summon Time Tripper, Shadow of Stagnation! By its effect you now put cards tapped in your mana zone."

"Dang it! I charge mana… and summon Hot Spring Crimson Meow to draw a card."

"From our previous duel I have noticed that you are pretty spell based, Mizu."

"So what if I am?"

"Well I wonder how you will like this – I summon Fuuma Gorgonshack! Now your spells cost two more to cast!"

"Why you little…"

"I end my turn."

"I charge mana and summon Franz the 1st, Ice Fang."

"Alright then, it's time to show you my new power!"

Five mana cards tapped themselves as Empress Luna raised a card in the air and placed it upon one of her shields. The card shined with blue and purple lights and the girl spoke:

"I fortify one of my shields with Original Heart, the New Moon Pulses!"

"Oh no, that's the fortress that aids God summoning…" Mizu commented.

"Exactly, and now let me show you how it works!" Luna replied with a satisfied smile on her face. "I attack with Fuuma Gorgonshack and put Moora, Emperor of the Gods in the battle zone while Original Heart allows me to draw a card. Fuuma Gorgonshack, break her shield! Then I attack with Time Tripper and put Mani, Emperor of the Gods in the battle zone while Original Heart lets me draw another card. I link Moora with Mani and then I draw a card thanks to Mani and I also discard Aqua Surfer and take Ana, Emperor of the Gods from my graveyard back to my hand! Time Tripper, break her shield! And now… since Moora Mani got linked, it lacks summoning sickness, so I attack with Moora Mani and put Ana, Emperor of the Gods in the battle zone while Original Heart lets me draw a card again. I link Ana with Mani and draw another card while you will have to choose a creature in your battle zone and return it to your hand!"

"I return Hot Spring Crimson Meow…"

"Ana Moora Mani, break her shield! And now I end."

Mizu's situation was very bad. She had just two shields left and she was stuck at four mana due to Time Tripper's effect while all her spells cost two more due to Fuuma Gorgonshack. To make matters worse, Luna's God was almost complete. All she could do now was hope for a miracle.

"Since Franz the 1st makes my spells cost 1 mana less I now cast Transmogrify!" Mizu said and then she destroyed her creature and revealed the top card of her deck. "I put Spell Grand Blue, the Blue Tide in the battle zone!"

Sadly for Mizu, her next top card was Balga Raiser, the Dragonic Meteor, which was not a spell and thus Spell Grand Blue's effect could not activate.

"Your worthless attempts to save yourself will now prove futile!" Luna declared while tapping one of her cards. "I attack with Fuuma Gorgonshack and put Adge, Emperor of the Gods in the battle zone! Original Heart lets me draw a card and then I link Adge with the rest and Ana's effect sends Spell Grand Blue back to your hand! Now arise, Adge Ana Moora Mani!"

The four linked Gods that represented the Darkness and Water civilizations materialized behind Luna and gave a fierce roar to Mizu that made the whole UFO shake.

"Fuuma Gorgonshack, break her shield! And now Adge Ana Moora Mani… break her final shield!" Luna ordered and in a matter of seconds her opponent was shield less. "Heh, untap. Are there any final words before you will bow down to the might of your Empress?"

"You're such a submissive weakling…" Mizu criticized and grinned.

"Fool, the weakling is sitting right in front of me – Adge Ana Moora Mani, todomeda!"

The attack of the Lunatic Gods was so powerful that it blasted Mizu all the way out of the UFO through its opened entrance. The girl crashed on the bark of a tree with small burns and tears on her outfit. However she was still conscious as she growled while she fell on the grassy ground. After a few minutes she found the power of pulling out her cell phone and dialing a number.

"Yes Mizu?" the same male voice with which she discussed earlier answered.

"I… am sorry…" the girl barely spoke.

"What happened?"

"Luna… she joined up… with Tabitha Lenox. The two have already attacked the former chosen duelists at their UFO. Tsugumi Shirayama and Edo Kanda couldn't stop them…"

"Where is Subaru Geki?"

"He is not here, sir."

"Tsh…"

"I tried to stop her… I… I am really sorry. She was too much for me."

"It's ok, you have done as much as you could, I am sending you back to the mansion."

"But sir…"

"No buts, it's an order!"

"Ok, I understand."

"Leave this to the rest of us."

"Yes."

The call ended and Mizu fell unconscious. After a few seconds a bright light surrounded her and she disappeared.

Back at the UFO, Tabitha laughed upon seeing Luna's victory. The Empress kneeled in front of her master loyally and waited for her next instructions.

"Congratulations Luna on bringing us yet another victory!"

"I am happy that you are proud, Tabitha-sama."

"And now that I have the Demon Commands that I need, it is time to take take our leave!"

All of a sudden they heard a crash. The duo ran outside of the UFO and saw the TARDIS lying in the grassy field. The door of the blue police box opened and then a dizzy Subaru walked out alongside the Doctor.

"Doctor, next time when we make a landing try to reduce the speed." Subaru advised.

"Oh don't worry about that Fiat, I always know what I'm doing." the Doctor assured him.

"Somehow I kind of doubt that… And the name is Subaru!"

"Well, well, look who we've got here." Tabitha spoke and crossed her arms.

Subaru and the Doctor turned their heads and the former chosen darkness duelist had the shock of seeing Tabitha Lenox, his former enemy and the one that had caused suffering to both him and his friends. To make matters worse, the one that was with her was Luna, one of his friends, who now seemed changed.

"What the hell is going on here?" Subaru uttered.

"Hehe, evil has finally appeared!" Tabitha declared with satisfaction.

"Oh boy, it seems like our vacation is over." the Doctor sighed with disappointment.

* * *

_Mizu(still playing her gameboy advance in a tree): Yeah, I pretty much failed back then. I didn't expect Luna to change her deck. But I guess I was too overconfident. Anyway, next time I face she will regret the wrong choice that she made! (the branch on which she sits cracks and falls along with her) Stupid tree!_

* * *

_[In the next chapter]:_

_It is on! Tabitha Lenox and Empress Luna go on face to face with Subaru and the Doctor. The witch prepares her new deck based on the notorious Zeta-File, Zenith of "Mystery" and she sends Empress Luna to take care of the two heroes. But Subaru cannot duel due to the fact that most of his cards had been stolen! Can the Doctor who is still a newcomer to the game be able to master his Miramisu deck and defeat Empress Luna? _


	6. Opening the Door

_Subaru(sitting in the TARDIS with his arms crossed): Alright people, if there was anything that took me by surprise a lot this autumn that was most certainly the Doctor's first duel. I know what you're thinking – you're expecting me to either praise him or criticize him, but if there was a single word that I could use to describe the match that he had back then, that would be 'surprising'. I will not speculate any further to spoil your surprise, so…_

* * *

The moon crossed the night sky that was decorated with blue stars gently approaching the West. Its rays that were falling upon Empress Luna and Tabitha from behind them caused their shadows to descend upon the cold grass and announced them that the rise of the sun was not far away. But at that moment their concern was the two males that were sitting in front of them – Subaru and the Doctor.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Tabitha spoke with a friendly tone as she walked to the opposing side. "If it isn't the Doctor!"

"Wow, so someone from this time actually knows me. I am flattered." the Doctor confessed.

"Oh trust me Doctor; your reputation precedes you a lot when it comes down to me." the witch pointed out as she ended up in front of him looking directly into his green eyes. "You don't know how long I have waited for you to come."

"Well frankly it's always good to know that there are some people out there who eagerly wait for you." the Doctor commented and then he fixed the witch with his own sight and changed the tone of his voice to a more serious one. "Though I would really like to know… who are you?"

"Stay away from him!" Subaru shouted and he came between the two stretching his arms in the air and blocking Tabitha's way from the Doctor.

"Toyota, just what do you think you're doing?" the Doctor asked.

"Doctor, this person is dangerous! I'll fill you on the details later, but for now I don't want you to come closer to her." the black haired teen spoke protectively to his new friend and then he turned towards the blonde woman that seemed rather displeased with his interference. "As for you Tabitha, I didn't know you got out of prison so early."

"Heh, as if a year is 'early' in your terms." Tabitha laughed and blew her sharp red nails. "However just for your information boy, I was never truly imprisoned because I could have escaped it anytime I wanted."

"What?!" Subaru gasped as his jaw dropped. "Then why did you…"

"Let's just say that I wanted a little vacation and a human prison seemed like a good place for an old witch like me." the witch replied while curling her golden hair with her left hand's index finger. "But now I am back and if you don't mind Subaru Geki, I would like to talk to this charming Doctor of yours."

"Oh I am sorry Tabitha, but I do mind you talking to the Doctor!"

The blonde woman took a look at Subaru's clenched fists and she saw that both were surrounded by purple auras that were burning powerfully. She realized that the boy meant business but luckily for her she had a trump in her sleeve that she was about to play.

"If I were you darling, I'd rush in the UFO right away." Tabitha suggested innocently.

"Oh no you don't, I'm not getting scared by your pitiful threats." Subaru replied firmly.

"So I guess that you don't really care about the fate of your beloved Tsugumi or your friend Edo? What a shame."

Those words struck the black haired boy like lightning. In the next moment he grabbed Tabitha by her dark blue cape and pulled her closer to him as he growled:

"What have you done to them?!"

"Why don't you go and see? After all, what happened to them was a few hours ago so I guess that they might be dead by now, who knows." the witch calmly said while shrugging her shoulders.

Subaru let go of her cape and stared at the ground confused. He did not know what was more important – protecting the Doctor from the witch or going inside the UFO and checking if his love and his best friend were alright. What if Tabitha was lying and this was yet another trap of hers? And what if it was no lie and the two really were dead? Luckily he was pulled out of the sea of confusion when the Doctor put his hand on his shoulder and said:

"Just go and see what those two are up to."

"But Doctor, what about…"

"Don't worry Mercedes, I can handle her. It's no sweat off my case." the Doctor assured him with confidence dripping out of his mouth.

"Alright, then good luck, you will need it more than me." Subaru wished him and then he ran off heading inside the spaceship.

"Nice way of eliminating hindrances." the Doctor commented.

"What can I say; I have always been famous for my cunning plots." Tabitha confessed.

"So your name is Tabitha, that's what I got from my assistant's talk with you. And he also made you sound like an evil woman."

The Doctor started walking around the blonde woman analyzing every inch.

"Dark blue cape, purple clothes, sharp nails, a crown with two gigantic horns and a pentagram tattooed on your belly button. Yep, you're definitely the bad guy." he concluded.

"And what if I am, Doctor? What's the matter? Have you never encountered evil women in your long lifetime?" Tabitha asked, not taking her eyes off him for a second.

"Oh if only you knew how many of your kind I have encountered. You're not the first, nor the last that I have met miss…"

"Lenox, Tabitha Lenox…"

After recommending herself the witch also stretched her hand which the Doctor grabbed and kissed politely.

"And my name is the Doctor. It's an honor meeting you, Miss Lenox."

"Oh what a gentleman! I am flattered; I have never seen such manners in centuries!" Tabitha exclaimed blushing.

"Well then, let's leave aside these fake formalities." the Doctor broke her moment and stared at her right in the eye. "What is it that you're after?"

In the next moment Tabitha burst out in a womanly laugh that did not betray at all the threat that she posed to those around her. However the Doctor did not let his guard down and kept a small safe distance away from her.

Meanwhile Subaru had the shock of discovering both Tsugumi and Edo lying unconscious on the floor of the kitchen with their cards scattered all around the room. Upon seeing the grim sight he quickly grabbed the blonde girl and shook her saying:

"Oh no, please no! Tsugumi, wake up! Please don't leave me like this, wake up!"

To his relief, once he grabbed her wrist he felt her pulse so he sighed.

"Thank goodness…" he whispered.

After checking Edo's pulse as well, he grabbed the two, put their arms on his shoulders and dragged them to the hospital room. It was not an easy task for him since the two were really heavy, but as long as he knew that they were safe, it was all that mattered to him.

"What are you after?" the Doctor asked Tabitha while walking around her once more. "Why did you enter my TARDIS and travel through time with us? Why did you cause the slaughter of the Genji?"

"Oh my, so many questions for a single defenseless woman." Tabitha pretended to be innocent.

"And most importantly Tabitha Lenox… who are you?" the Doctor stopped in front of her and approached his face to hers.

Tabitha then put her index finger on his mouth and gestured a 'ssh' with her mouth.

"Spoilers…" the witch whispered to him and giggled.

"I see…" the Doctor shortly replied and made a step back. "So you must be behind whatever happened here at the UFO as well?"

"You're a clever man Doctor, I'll give you that."

"Well let's say that this cleverness of mine caused me to escape many situations."

"Oh I am most certain of that! However Doctor, you should know that this new ground on which you are playing has different rules from the ones you are used to."

"Well Tabitha, you should know that I am a man that obeys many rules, more than you could ever imagine."

"And I am the witch that goes by no rules whatsoever."

The two stood there opposing each other like Ying and Yang. But no matter how much danger he sensed from her presence, the Doctor could not help but be fascinated by Tabitha Lenox. They both seemed so different and yet there was something that was attracting these two opposites, he just couldn't realize what it was.

The witch yawned and stretched her arms revealing without shame her fatigue. Then she turned around and looked at the blue haired armored girl that sat there with both her arms on her scepter paying attention to everything that was going on.

"Doctor…" Tabitha spoke without looking back at him. "You are a duelist, right?"

"Well yes, you can say that. My assistant built me a deck." the Doctor answered.

"Then how about you duel my loyal minion Empress Luna? I am pretty intrigued about your dueling skills."

"Well I guess that a match wouldn't hurt, now would it? After all, there has to be a first time for everything."

"And a last time as well." Tabitha thought and grinned evilly.

"In that case, let's do this." Empress Luna suggested and pulled out her deck.

"Alright then miss." the Doctor replied while taking his deck out as well.

The two decks shined and then two dueling tables rose from the ground a foot away from them.

"I love it when this happens." the Doctor said excitedly.

The duelists walked to the tables, put their decks on them and then they began setting up their cards. Meanwhile having assured that Tsugumi and Edo were connected to the resuscitating machines, Subaru headed back outside and had the surprise of witnessing the Doctor getting ready to duel.

"Doctor! What the hell are you doing?!" Subaru shouted from the UFO's entrance.

"Oh hey there Honda, I am just dueling with this nice Empress called Luna!" the Doctor waved at him and smiled.

"Luna… Empress?"

Subaru turned to see the Doctor's opponent and was beyond stunned as he saw that it was none other than his former teammate Luna who was now dressed in a diamond armor and wearing a silver crown.

"Greetings, Subaru Geki, aren't you glad to see me?" Empress Luna turned to him and smiled maliciously.

"Luna… what happened to you?" the amazed Subaru barely spoke.

"That is the least of your concerns, boy!" Tabitha intervened and then she showed a handful of Darkness cards. "Do you happen to recognize these beauties?"

"What the… Deathraios, Bell Hell De Gaul, even Gal Volf? What are you doing with my cards?!"

"Let's just say that I am borrowing them… forever!"

"Why you little…"

"Though I was kind of disappointed I could not find your chosen card Dorballom or your beloved Liger Blade. They would have been nice additions to my deck as well."

"Alright everyone, enough with the chit chats please!" the Doctor clapped his hands. "We've got a duel to play!"

"I couldn't agree more…" Empress Luna added. "Duel start!"

Ten blue rectangular shields arose above them, five for each, and thus the match began. Subaru took a quick look at Empress Luna's table and noticed that she lacked cards in her hyperspatial zone.

"Wait a minute, where's your Hot Spring Gallows Victory card?" Subaru asked.

"I got rid of that thing, the new me has no need for those slow Water and Fire combos." Empress Luna replied with disgust.

"But if you lack a Victory card… how can you kaijudo duel?"

"Hehehe, my power is beyond that of the Proof, Subaru." Tabitha intervened yet again. "It is because of me that she can still bring creatures into the human world without the aid of a stupid Victory card. My minions and I need not to be restricted by a stupid rule that a dead gem made."

During that time at the beach a stranger walked down its stairs and stopped in front of an abandoned dark blue skirt and sleeveless yellow shirt. The strange figure leaned down and picked one card from the deck that was lying inside the skirt's pocket. That card was Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows and it immediately shone with a blue light as the creature depicted in the card appeared as a hologram in front of the one holding its card.

"Luna-sama, are you alright?" the red robotic Alien asked.

"I am sorry but your master has given up on you. However if you wish, I will gladly add you to my deck. I am sure that you will find many of your Alien brothers inside it." the stranger spoke to the hologram.

Empress Luna began the duel by placing Original Heart, the New Moon Pulses in her mana zone tapped.

"It is your turn." the blue haired girl passed.

"Alright then!" the Doctor exclaimed and quickly placed Codename Snake in his mana zone, tapped the card and also put Spell Del Fin, Light Divine Dragon in the battle zone. "I summon this beauty – Spell Del Fin, Light Divine Dragon! Haha, let's see you put up with that!"

What followed next was the coughing of Tabitha – she choked on her wine, a wave of laughter coming from Luna's mouth – something was amusing her greatly, and the sound of slapped skin – Subaru's right palm collided with his face.

"Is something the matter?" the Doctor asked while looking at all three of them. "What is so funny?"

"Never in my life had I seen such a noob-like move, boy are you a killer, haha!" Empress Luna laughed with delight.

"Ok Doctor, I think you might need a little help." Subaru said and walked to the dueling table. "First of all, Spell Del Fin costs nine mana. How do I know? The mana cost of a card is shown here on the top left corner of a card. Secondly, you have only one card in your mana zone and to top it off it does not match the civilization of the creature you want to summon. Spell Del Fin is a Light creature; Codename Snake has the Water, Darkness and Nature civilizations so it wouldn't have helped you. Not to mention that you have just one card in your mana zone and you would need nine to pay for Spell Del Fin. And to top it off, multicolored cards such as Codename Snake are put in the mana zone tapped and thus they cannot help you until they are untapped. Yes, you can only pay with untapped mana."

"Give it up Subaru, he is a hopeless case." Empress Luna said dismissively.

"No, I think I understand." the Doctor said while putting Spell Del Fin back in his hand.

"Also the mana cards are put upside down." Subaru said while turning the Codename Snake card upside down and also tapping it. "You do it like this."

"I see. And is there anything else that I should know?"

"Well Doctor, read the effects of the cards in your hand carefully, boost up your mana for whatever you need and make the wise decision all the time. Oh and also, since Luna started the game you have to draw a card at the start of your turn."

"Ok." the man with a bowtie said and took the top card of his deck to his hand. "Very well, I think I'll be able to handle this."

Subaru nodded and smiled to his new friend and then he walked back to his initial place and crossed his arms watching the duel.

"A total noob, this will be easier than I've thought!" Empress Luna spoke and placed Terror Pit in her mana zone. "I charge mana and end."

"I also charge mana and end." the Doctor quickly did his turn.

"Time to really begin this duel - I summon Melgainer, Electro-Spectre!"

A creature formed of two warriors, one being a blue humanoid made of water and wielding a blue sword and the other being a purple humanoid made of mud and wielding a purple sword appeared by Empress Luna's side.

"Alright, it's my turn." the Doctor said and after drawing his next card he looked in his hand. "Hm, so many high cost cards… Oh wait, this one does not cost much! Alright, let's charge mana with this ten costing fatty and… oh wait, he is multicolored, Skoda said that those cards are put in the mana zone tapped. Alright, I guess that Spell Del Fin can go there. As for civilizations… Spell Del Fin must be Light since he's yellow, and that Codename Snake thingy… he has a blue, a black and a green symbol in its middle; I guess it must be Water, Darkness and Nature. Oh, Nature! That's it!"

"Are you done with your stupid monologue?" Empress Luna yawned with boredom.

"It's just the beginning – I summon Faerie Life!"

This time Tabitha was the one that erupted with laughter as she saw the Doctor put the Nature card in his battle zone. Empress Luna however was ceasing from being amused.

"Um Doctor, Faerie Life is not exactly a creature." an embarrassed Subaru intervened. "It's a spell card, so you say that you 'cast it', not 'summon it'. Oh and also, after you use its effect it goes to the graveyard."

"I see. Well its effect says 'Put the top card of your deck into your mana zone.' so I guess I should do that." the Doctor commented and then he took the top card of his deck which was GILL, Supergalatic Dragon and he placed it in his mana zone and afterwards he put Faerie Life to his graveyard. "I end here."

"What a slowpoke. At this rate I will win before you've even started to get your creatures out!" Empress Luna affirmed. "I summon Moora, Emperor of the Gods and attack with Melgainer and draw a card. Now break his shield!"

The creature swung both its swords and slashed off one of the Doctor's shields. The man took cover as the shield shards went past him. Then he took the card that was inside it and put it in his hand.

"Hm, I charge mana with this biggie." the Doctor said and put Baban Ban Ban, Earth's Blessing in his mana zone. "Then I guess I'll use this card since it's the lowest costing one. I… um… cast?" he said while looking at Subaru and showing the card he was going to use, receiving a nod as a response. "Yes, I cast Positron Sign!"

"Oh wow, you finally got it right." Empress Luna ironically stated.

"Now let's see its effect - Shield trigger _(When this spell is put into your hand from your shield zone, you may cast it immediately for no cost.)_ Look at the top 4 cards of your deck. You may choose 1 spell with "Shield Trigger" from among these cards. Put the rest of the cards on the bottom of your deck in any order. Then, cast the chosen spell without cost. Neat, I like this Shield Trigger ability."

"Save your admiration and awe for later, right now you've got a match to face, fool!"

"As you say!"

The Doctor looked at the top four cards of his deck which were Geo Bronze Magic, Death Six, Ruthless Prince, Faerie Life and Codename Sherlock.

"Oh, only this thingy has this shield trigger ability, so I guess I'll cast Faerie Life then!" the Doctor said and then he watched how an Intense Vacuuming Twist landed in his mana zone. "I end."

"My turn, I summon Mani, Emperor of the Gods and link it with Moora, Emperor of the Gods. Mani's effect lets me draw a card. And now I attack with Melgainer, Electro-Spectre, draw a card and break another one of your shields!" Empress Luna said and the creature belonging to two civilizations swung its swords and slashed another one of the Doctor's shields. "Moora Mani, break his shield as well!" she continued and the linked Gods spat purple and blue lasers from their mouths taking down another one of the dark brown haired man's shields.

However this time one of the cards that went into his hand shined with a bright blue light. The Doctor looked at it curiously and after he read its effect he spoke to his opponent:

"I guess I got a shield trigger. And I think you have to say shield trigger activate, right?"

"And just what shield trigger did you get?" Empress Luna asked unimpressed.

"Well its name is Hogan Blaster!" the Doctor said and then his deck shuffled by itself.

"Oh no! But that spell can allow you to cast a spell or put a creature in the battle zone for free…" the Empress gasped suddenly shocked.

Suddenly the right hand of the Doctor erupted with red, green, yellow, blue and purple lights as the top card of his deck revealed itself as Onimaru "Head", Victory Rush which landed on his table in the battle zone.

"I put Onimaru "Head", Victory Rush in the battle zone!" the Doctor exclaimed and then a red haired humanoid dressed in a red and blue armor, wielding a shining white sword and riding a purple armored dragon appeared behind him.

"Oh no, he has a Victory card!" Empress Luna exclaimed and backed down amazed of the mighty creature that faced her.

"Interesting…" Tabitha commented while biting one of her sharp nails and examining both the Doctor and his creature curiously.

"Alright Doctor, show her what you've got!" Subaru cheered.

"Honda, I think it is high time I opened the Door to this new world of wonders!" the Doctor said smiling and then he showed Empress Luna a spell that belonged to the Water and Nature civilizations. "I cast The Door of Miracle and Mystery!"

"Awesome move Doc… and the name is Subaru!"

The top four cards of the Doctor's deck revealed themselves as DNA Spark, Faerie Life, GILL, Supergalactic Dragon and Hogan Blaster.

"By Door's effect you'll have to choose a creature between these and put it in the battle zone." the Doctor explained.

"Like choosing your own death." Tabitha thought.

"But I don't have much of a choice!" Empress Luna growled. "Your only creature is GILL!"

"Exactly, which means that it lands in my battle zone." the man added and then he read its effect. "When you put this creature in the battle zone, choose any number of your opponent's creatures with a total power of 9000 or less and destroy them. Then choose 1 of your opponent's shields and put it in its owner's graveyard. Double breaker _(This creature breaks 2 shields.)_ Oh well, I guess that I choose both of your creatures."

The golden armored Dragon bombed the battle zone of Empress Luna destroying Melgainer, separating Moora and Mani, destroying Moora and also one of her shields which was Hanzou, Menacing Phantom.

"And now what?" the Doctor asked Subaru.

"Onimaru "Head" has speed attacker, meaning he can attack on the turn he is put in the battle zone." the black haired teen replied. "Go break her shields!"

"Alright then, Onimaru "Head", attack her shields! And let's see, when this guy attacks we play Hardcore Judge and if I win I get an extra turn. The card says that Hardcore Judge means us revealing the top cards of our decks and the one with the highest cost wins. Well let's see how many extra turns I'll get then!"

"If you win that is…" Empress Luna added.

The two players revealed the top cards of their decks and while Empress Luna got Adge, Emperor of the Gods, the Doctor got Codename Snake. It was 7 VS 8, so the Doctor had won.

"Well, well, looks like I got an extra turn." the Doctor said with satisfaction. "Onimaru "Head", triple break her shields!"

"Argh!" Empress Luna exclaimed as the shield shards hit her armor.

"And now for my new turn. I cast… The Door of Miracle and Mystery!"

"Oh no, not again!"

This time the top four cards of the Doctor were Onimaru "Head", Victory Rush, Intense Vacuuming Twist, DNA Spark and Spell Del Fin, Light Divine Dragon. It was as Tabitha thought; Luna had to choose her death since both creatures meant heavy hits for the Empress.

"I choose… Spell Del Fin." Empress Luna sighed.

"Well this beauty says that you have to show me your hand and you can't cast spells. Oh well, GILL break her final shield!" the Doctor ordered and the golden armored dragon shot the girl's last shield which was a Hades Death Gate which Spell Del Fin did not allow her to cast. "And now what, Suzuki?"

"And now you give her the finishing blow and declare 'todomeda'." Subaru proudly said.

"Alright then, Onimaru "Head", Victory Rush, todomeda!"

That was the last thing Empress Luna heard before the red haired humanoid's sword collided with her armor and threw her away along with her cards. Thus the duel had finished and the creature disappeared.

"You did it!" Subaru shouted happily.

"Well what can I say, dueling is cool." the Doctor proudly rubbed his nose.

"Bravo Doctor." Tabitha applauded him much towards the black haired teen's shock. "That was a fantastic duel. I must confess, I was very impressed by your deck's skills."

"And since you were so impressed by me, I guess that I deserve an explanation."

"Well whatever are you talking about?"

"Oh you know very well what I am talking about, Tabitha."

The blonde witch turned her head away from the Doctor and walked to her minion's side. She picked up her cards and then she opened a portal behind her. Afterwards the witch lifted the unconscious Luna up and looked at the Doctor in the eye saying:

"Maybe next time."

"Hey, let go of Luna at this instant!" Subaru ordered and rushed towards the portal.

But Tabitha acted as if she did not even hear him and she jumped in the portal with her new minion while laughing evilly. The portal closed by the time Subaru reached it.

"She's gone." the Doctor said.

"And she took my friend with her." Subaru added with grief.

The sun's rays slowly began to turn the black celestial bolt into crimson red announcing the dawn of a new day. In the middle of the city a strange figure with long brown hair arranged in a pony tail walked down to the unconscious Tiger that was lying on the road. He leaned down and shook the blonde teen's shoulder until he finally opened his yellow eyes and looked up. His sight was a little blurry but then he recognized the red trousers with the symbol of the Nature civilization, the grey sleeveless shirt and the benevolent red and yellow eyes that were looking down at him.

"Blane…" Tiger murmured.

"What happened to you dude?" the long brown haired male asked while pulling him up. "You look like a tank ran over you and your deck."

"No, it wasn't a tank… It was a samurai duelist." the blonde replied getting up on his feet and dusting himself.

"A samurai duelist?" Blane raised his eyebrow. "Was it a duelist using a Samurai deck or it was a samurai that could duel?"

"The latter… And boy did he pack a punch!"

"Hm… a dueling samurai…"

Blane rubbed his chin as he looked at the sunrise. He recalled seeing a guy with a sword and a samurai mask walking down the streets the other night. Could it have been the same person?

"Why that bastard!" Tiger shouted after he finished packing up his cards.

"What's the matter?" Blane burst out of his contemplating.

"That samurai dude stole my Faerie Gift, Come On Pippi, Geo Crashing Miranda and a handful of psychics!"

"But wasn't Miranda Gift the main combo of your deck?"

"Not anymore… Oh when I'll get my hands on him he'll regret the moment he jumped in front of me!"

"So I guess you'll have to build a new deck for the tournament?"

"Oh darn, I forgot that the Duel Masters tournament begins today…"

"Oh don't worry dude!" Blane said and put his hand on Tiger's shoulder. "I'll help you build a new deck and then we can go and sign up for the tournament."

"Thanks Blane…" Tiger nodded. "And if you happen to see a red haired samurai tell me, I've got a score to settle with him."

Tiger cracked his knuckles looking eager to beat someone up. Blane shook his head amused of his friend's anger but also understanding of his frustration.

Back at the UFO as the Doctor was taking care of the wounded Edo and Tsugumi, Subaru sat outside looking at the moon that was fading under the sea and the weakened darkness of the night that was following it.

"Things have gone worse than I've predicted." a voice spoke from the darkness.

"Huh? Who said that?" Subaru awoke from his thoughts and looked around.

Suddenly a figure dressed in robes similar to those of the THEM organization walked to the black haired teen.

"We meet again, Subaru Geki." the stranger spoke.

"You're that traitor of THEM - Raven." Subaru recognized him.

"I was never a fan of Tigra to begin with."

"I see. So what are you doing here?"

"That doesn't matter, now what's important is the crisis at hand."

"How do you know? Were you stalking me?"

"Let's just say that I keep track of everyone. And apparently many of your recent actions have caused lots of complexities."

"Whatever the hell are you talking about?"

"Heh, you see, you don't have a clue of the things that are happening around you, Subaru Geki. Well then, let me enlighten you – After Tigra's death you guys decided to go on your own separate ways and you never kept in touch with each other. That caused a lot of pain to your former friend Luna. Her loneliness easily helped Tabitha convince her that she was abandoned by her friends and now she wants to get even with you guys."

"So that's why she turned against us! It's because of Tabitha's manipulation!" Subaru clenched his fist angrily.

"Well Tabitha just used Luna's weakness that you guys created in her own advantage." Raven shrugged his shoulders. "Also I don't know about your recent adventures with the so called Doctor but it seems that you have brought a souvenir along with you."

"Souvenir? Oh, do you mean the wandering samurai? Yes, the Doctor told me about his mission and why he has come to the future."

"So challenging your friend Tiger and stealing some of his cards was part of his mission?"

"Wait a minute… he did what?!"

"Heh, you really can't keep yourself out of trouble, can you now Subaru Geki? Anyway, his duel against Tiger was totally one sided and in his favor. With the Victory cards that he acquired his deck will most likely be stronger than ever. So I suggest you'd better watch your back because we don't know his real motives. As for Tabitha, she seems to be in search for new recruits. Also she stole some of your and Kokujo Kyoshiro's Demon Commands."

"Yes, I have seen that. However she did not get them all." Subaru replied with a slick smile and pulled out from his jeans' pocket a handful of cards, one copy of each – Cheval, Temporal Demon Spirit, Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier, Dias Zeta, Temporal Suppressor, Volg Thunder, Thunder Tiger, Hanzou, Menacing Phantom, Olzekia, General of Decapitation, Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger, Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger, Dulanzames, Jet-Black War Demon and Dorballom, Lord of Demons. "I was planning on remaking my deck into a Demon Command/Hunter based hyperspatial control and these guys were my primary choices. But now that she stole most of my Demon Commands I guess I will have to refocus my deck."

"Tsh… Now that you are aware of the situation I suggest you keep your guard up." Raven advised him.

"Of course. Anyway, I guess that you are an ally."

"Let's just say that I know that many lives depend on your victory."

"Heh, and you sound awfully familiar too." the black haired boy said and took a better look at his interlocutor trying to see who was behind the hood. "Are you…"

"Time's up!" Raven exclaimed and quickly disappeared into the shadows again.

"Heh, take care mysterious one."

With those words disappearing in the fading night, Subaru turned once again at the sea and admired the moon's setting.

* * *

_Subaru: So yes, this is how the Doctor's first duel looked like. At first he played like a total noob but then he slowly started to pick up the game and won epically. I see a bright future for him as a duelist._

_Doctor(comes from under the TARDIS' main computer with a wrench in his right hand and a pair of goggles cover his eyes): How sweet of you Mazda! Now I know why you are my favorite assistant._

_Subaru(sighs): How many times do I have to repeat my name in order for you to remember it?_

_Doctor(takes off his goggles): What are you talking about, Toyota? I never once forgot your name._

_Subaru(annoyed voice): I'm starting to think you're doing this on purpose!_

_Doctor: Well, whatever floats your boat then, Ferrari. _

_Subaru(screams angrily)_

* * *

_[In the next chapter]:_

_Blane and Tiger go to sign up at the Duel Masters tournament and there some old friends await them along with a new evil. The wandering samurai decides to take a look at the tournament as well and ends up colliding with Blane. Will he be able to avenge his defeated friend or will the samurai humiliate him as well?_


	7. When swords clash

_Blane(stretches his arms and yawns): You know, I always thought that Subaru had it hard being the oldest and the most responsible of the chosen duelists… Ok, maybe not that responsible, but he did go through lots of hardships, you can't deny that. And even though he doesn't want to admit it, he does have that aura of a leader. But anyway, at this recent Duel Masters Tournament I also formed my own team of friends, and boy are they hard to tame! Don't believe me? Go see for yourselves._

* * *

Tiger tapped his foot impatiently as he sat in front of the changing room waiting for Blane. The stings coming from the X-shaped scar on his chest were starting to bother him. They had arrived at the tournament building an hour ago and he still could not forget the humiliation that the samurai had inflicted upon him. All that he wanted was to find the wandering warrior and make him pay for what he had done the other night. But sadly he knew he had to wait, for both he and his friend had a tournament to participate in.

"Alright dude, I'm done." Blane spoke as he walked out of the dressing room. "Well what do you think?"

He was dressed in a black T shirt with its sleeves rolled up, black leather pants that were held by a red belt with a gold buckle, his hands were covered by red gloves and the sword he received from Eternal Phoenix was in a black scabbard with a red chest belt. Tiger whistled and gave his verdict with a thumb up:

"Nice looks you got there! Now let's go get signed up."

"Oh no, you're not going anywhere looking like that!" Blane protested and grabbed Tiger's arm pulling him inside the dressing room.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?!" the blonde shouted surprised.

"It's time for you to change your looks as well, kitty cat."

And thus Blane closed the room's door and started searching for some suiting clothes for Tiger.

The morning sun was slowly and steadily taking over the sky with its bright light that was reflecting upon the metallic buildings of the city. At the tournament arena there was a long crowd waiting to either buy tickets or sign up. The large number of people caught the attention of the wandering samurai who had just finished eating a breakfast consisting of a stolen chili dog and a cola. Yes, after all that time that he spent in Feudal Japan feasting only on fish and rice, the taste of modern food was a great relief for him even though he knew it was not as healthy. But he did not care. All that he cared for was the sound of the rockets' engines, the sight of the shiny metropolis and the tensioned atmosphere of the big city. A week ago he would have sworn that all those were nothing but dreams and he would never experience them… again. And now here he was, back where he came from, almost as if he had woken from another dream. But that was the lesser of his concerns. His real mission was to find Tabitha and avenge the blood of his clan. And yet the life he once had seemed so tempting. For a moment he wished to simply take his mask and vest off, throw his sword and sheath away and join the crowd to either buy tickets or sign up for the tournament. But no, he could not allow himself to think like that. The fires of revenge that burned inside him were too strong.

"Is something the matter, master?" a low otherworldly voice whispered to his ear.

The samurai looked down and saw the image of Genji Double Cross sitting on his right shoulder and looking up at him with concern.

"It's nothing." he replied dismissively.

"Oh no master, I have known you long enough to feel when something is bothering you." the samurai dragon insisted. "So will you please stop with these childish games and just spit it out?"

The samurai turned his red eyes to his deck's avatar and stared at the dragon with a small grudge. Genji sighed, lowered his head down and said:

"Fine, be that way. I don't wish to cause any kind of grudge between us, so I'll take my leave."

With the creature disappearing from his shoulder, he returned his focus to the tournament arena. Then in his mind the images of the same building hosting the same tournament a year ago flashed. He remembered signing up with his other four fellow chosen duelists and seeing all of their enemies signing up as well. Instinctually he put his left hand on his sheath and his right hand on his sword's handle but then he took a good look at the weapon and said:

"Maybe I should take a look, it won't last long."

Fifteen minutes later the samurai found himself hiding behind a decorative plant looking at the sixteen contestants that were signing up. Among them there was a dark red haired brown eyed teenage boy dressed in a pale blue T shirt covered by a black jacket and in black pants and brown boots. The boy's hair was spiky and at the back he had a short pony tail. He was immediately signed up in the tournament computers simply as 'Pyro' and when he turned around he had the surprise of seeing a red haired eleven year old boy dressed in a red shirt with a black vest that had red and yellow flames, black pants, golden boots that had the letter T and a black headband pulling his red flame like spiky hair backwards. The little boy looked up at Pyro with his red eyes and big smile.

"Hey there, long time no see Tamma!" Pyro greeted him. "Did you grow in height these past months?"

"Haha, thanks for reminding me that I'm short." Tamma suddenly turned grumpy and crossed his arms.

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to do that. Don't worry, in a couple of years you will be as tall as us all, I guarantee you!"

"Yeah, yeah…"

Tamma jumped and caught the edge of the table where he was supposed to take a paper and write down his name. Pyro sweated and spoke to his younger friend:

"Say, don't you want me to help you with that?"

"Don't worry… I can handle myself!" Tamma dismissed him and looked at the lady that was typing the information of contestants into the computer. "G-good morning…"

"Good morning, young one. I am afraid that you have mistaken the singing up line with the ticket one." the lady replied.

"Madam… I want to sign up." the red haired child breathed heavily.

"So you do? You know very well that children under the age of ten are not…"

"I am eleven!"

In the next moment Tamma pushed his identity card to the surprised woman and she began filling on the information. In a couple of minutes the job was done and Tamma was officially a contestant just like Pyro.

"So how is life for you?" the teen asked.

"Oh it's fine." Tamma replied and crossed both his arms and put them on the back of his neck to support his head. "I've trained a lot this summer with brother Subaru. He wanted to be sure that I will be able to win this tournament."

"How sweet of him, though you should be aware that there are many challenges that await both of us."

"I am aware. Oh and speaking of challenges, Pyro, look who's coming!"

Tamma pointed at the rest rooms out of which Blane and Tiger walked out, the blonde teen now being dressed in dark green boots, white pants, a green jacket with black sleeves that revealed his shirtless chest with the X scar and a green bandana with the Nature civilization symbol on it.

"Blane, Tiger, over here!" Tamma shouted and waved his hands in the air.

"Hey there!" Blane waved back and walked to the duo along with Tiger. "What's up boys?"

"Oh we have signed up at the tournament." Pyro explained. "What about you two?"

"The same thing." Tiger shortly responded and went to the lady sitting in front of a computer putting his identity card on the table. "Tiger King."

"So yeah, how's life for you two?" Blane asked while putting his hands in his pockets.

"Pretty fine, I've visited some areas close to this city. I must say that for a place located near the seaside you guys have some great forests." Pyro said.

"Didn't really do much on these summer holidays, I just trained with brother Subaru." Tamma added. "I'm pretty lucky that Wally-sama allowed me to participate at the tournament and excused me from missing some of his classes."

"I see. Well in that case I say we all hang out a bit until the tournament begins, what do you say?" Blane suggested and received nods of approval. "Good, after I sign up we'll go at…"

But before he could finish his idea he noticed that two more people walked in the tournament building. They were of the same height, in their early twenties and both were red haired and had green eyes. One of them was a girl dressed in a white shirt with a brown vest, blue jeans, brown boots and a cowboy hat, her hair being arranged in a ponytail. The other was a man wearing a red shirt and purple suit. His long hair was left free on his back and his hands were covered by two gloves, the left one having a bull skull and the colors black, green and red, while the right one was white and had the symbol of the Zero civilization. The girl hit him in the rib with her elbow and spoke with an obvious Texan accent:

"Now don't you dare cause any trouble, got it?"

"Of course, dear sister, you know me well." he scratched his head innocently.

"It's because Ah know you that Ah told you this." the girl replied and then she left him alone.

Now Blane turned around to greet her and spoke in a rather loud voice that caught the attention of his comrades as well:

"Well hello there, ex-anti-chosen fire duelist!"

"Oh please Blaney, you know very well that Ah am over that whole thing. You may just call me Rita." the red haired girl replied laughing.

"Got it, cowgirl." he replied winking at her.

"Rita, it's been like forever!" Pyro exclaimed upon seeing her.

"Yay, Rita-neechan is back!" Tamma shouted even happier.

"Oh yeah, Ah am back in business, boys! It's nice to see all of you safe and sound!" the red haired confessed. "So what did Ah miss while Ah was gone?"

"You don't even know how much." Blane joked.

"If you're done chit chatting, you might take your time to sign up before the tournament begins." Tiger sourly suggested.

"Gee, you still have that stick up your butt?" Rita reminded him sticking out her tongue. "And oh boy, what happened to your chest?"

"Let's say that I had an unfortunate accident." Tiger said while turning his head away from Rita, Tamma and Pyro that were all looking with curiosity at his X scar. "That's none of your business. Now let's get down to business, shall we?"

Once they all signed up the group decided to all go at the arena and each take their seats. However Blane decided to kill some time inspecting the building's area. Even though it was the standard tournament building, what really interested him were not the looks but the security system for he did not wish to have any troubles around.

And so he wandered all alone down the corridors taking an occasional look at the refreshments machines and various fast foods. But his mind was elsewhere. He was thinking about Subaru, Tsugumi and Edo. He may have stalked them in the past couple of weeks but he did not talk to them for almost two months. The reason was that they were busy with their own activities and he was mostly concerned with their safety. After all, that is the job of a guardian angel. Yet the idea of participating in and winning a tournament was highly tempting for him. He would gain fame and he would make Subaru and his friends proud of him. And even if he did not win, he still had the chance of showing everyone what he truly had in him.

Suddenly he stopped from walking and stood still in the middle of the corridor. A sly smile appeared on his face as he spoke with a provocative tone in his voice:

"You can come out of your hideout, this if you are a man."

That's when he heard some heavy footsteps that most likely belonged to boots. When he turned around he saw none other than the wandering samurai approaching him discretely from the shadows. Blane analyzed the warrior's looks and then he remembered the words of Tiger. The description matched perfectly. There was no doubt that the one standing in front of him was the same person that stole his friend's cards. Even so, he decided to ask him to see what answer he would get:

"Are you the one that stole Tiger's cards?"

"So Tiger was his name? Such an unfitting name for a weakling like him." the samurai coldly replied.

"Hey, watch out who you call a weakling, samurai boy!" Blane got angered.

"And what do you care, stranger?"

"The guy you just insulted is my friend. And let's just say that nobody insults and humiliates my friends and gets away with it!"

Blane reached his hand on the sheath from his back and he pulled out the sword that he received from Eternal Phoenix.

"Let's see if you're as strong as your words." Blane challenged.

"You got it." the samurai replied and pulled out his red bladed sword.

"Oh, nice weapon you got there. I thought those were only made in Japan a long time ago. Did you rob a museum as well, you card thief?"

The samurai ignored Blane's mockery and simply took an attacking position preparing to rush at him. His opponent did the same and then silence fell upon them.

Meanwhile inside one of the building's room, the brother of Rita sat on a chair playing on a black piano in an elegant manner. The song that he was interpreting was Ludwig van Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, first movement. The melancholy of the piano's notes was filling the air of the empty room. The man continued playing entranced by the atmosphere that he did not notice when someone else entered the room as well and kneeled in front of him.

"Roger-sama, I have come to bring you news…" a young male voice awoke him from his trance.

The pianist turned to the one kneeling, still playing his piano, and saw that it was a boy nineteen years of age with long white hair that touched his shoulders, deep blue eyes and who wore a yellow T shirt with the symbol of the Light civilization on it imprinted in white colors, a silver jacket and blue jeans.

"What is it, Ren?" the pianist Roger asked in a calm manner while he was still playing.

"All eight of us have been successfully signed up in the tournament. As for its prizes, they are two Victory cards belonging to the Zero civilization, each will go to the participants in the finals, depending on who wins and who loses." the white haired boy explained.

"I see. And where are the others?"

"They are all in the arena. The host should arrive in half an hour and then the tournament should officially begin. This is all that I know so far."

"Good. Go back and join your teammates. I will be sure to arrive soon."

"But Roger-sama, I do have a question."

"What now, Ren?"

"Your twin sister Rita has some friends of hers participating in the tournament as well. Do you not fear that she might tell them about us?"

"Even if she did, she does not know about our plans so they will not pose a problem. However, if by some chance Rita and her friends would stand in our way, then we all know what to do with hindrances, don't we, Ren?"

"I understand, Roger-sama."

"Good, you are now dismissed."

With a nod, Ren got up, turned around and walked away from the room, the gentle and romantic melodies that were being played by his master on the piano still being caught in his head.

The sounds of battle cries resounded in the other side of the corridor as the samurai and Blane rushed at each other and their swords clashed. The two looked each other in the eye and both saw determination in each other. However that was just for a moment as the samurai jumped back and took a couple of breaths.

"That's weird; my attack didn't even faze him." Blane thought.

Taking the opportunity of Blane's lack of attention, the samurai rushed at him once again and in just a second the sword slashed. Blane was lucky that he had barely noticed that his opponent attacked him again and made a late reaction which kept the red blade away from his neck. However he felt blood fall from his right cheek down to his neck. The samurai also admired the few blood stains that his sword had.

"He's mine." the warrior in red thought with overconfidence.

He then turned around and attacked his opponent once again. However this time Blane was ready and he responded by stopping the samurai's sword with his own before he would reach him. Afterwards he started hitting the red blade with his own repeatedly, confusing and making the red haired fighter back off.

"Damn, he isn't giving me one chance to react or attack him!" the samurai thought.

After ten more repeated attacks, Blane swung his sword in such a way that when it hit that of the samurai, it threw the red blade in the air and left his opponent unarmed. Afterwards the brown haired swordsman tried to hit him while he was without a sword but the samurai quickly jumped in the air and retrieved his weapon. Then as he fell back at his opponent he tried to drive the blade in him but Blane backed off and it ended up being thrust in the ground like the sword of Arthur.

"I've got to say, you're a fast fighter, I'll give you that. However, your ability to wield the sword is terrible."

"What do you know?" the samurai bitterly replied.

"Well for starters, the only time you actually managed to hit me was when I was off guard. But besides that you couldn't handle any of my attacks and for a few moments you were left without your weapon." Blane explained his criticisms. "Heh, you put the good name of samurai warriors to shame."

His words made the samurai remember of the days in which he had trained at the Genji camp.

_Rad fell in the dirt on his back, shirtless and full of sweat, his tiredness being obvious from his heavy breathing. The edge of a sword appeared next to his neck, the weapon's wielder being a tall muscular man in his thirties that had a disappointed look on his face._

"_You can run all you want, but if you are not able to properly use your sword then you're not fit to be a warrior!" the man spoke with a harsh voice._

"_But Musashi-sensei, he managed to dodge most of your attacks perfectly." a Koji dressed in a battle kimono intervened. "And he also had pretty quick attacks."_

"_Speed is not the only important element in swordsmanship, Koji-kun. When you end up in a one-on-one fight you must be able to predict your opponent's moves and know how to properly counteract them. In the same time you should focus on his strengths and weaknesses and plan a way to defeat him." master Musashi explained to the young warrior and then he turned to the tired Rad. "This is not a race, this is a battle where your own life is at stake. If you wish to become a true warrior then you need to wake up and learn how to properly fight!"_

_The sword's edge retreated from the young red haired teen's neck and ended back in the master's sword. The man then turned around and walked to other warriors that he had to train. Koji helped Rad get up and then he tried to motivate his friend:_

"_Don't worry about what the master said; you were actually pretty good in that battle."_

"_I don't know, Koji. This whole samurai business seems to be too much for me. I just am not fit to be a swordsman." Rad replied with disappointment and took a good look at his sword._

"_I believe in you, Rad-kun, you do have the potential to become a great warrior one day." Koji assured him and grabbed his right hand. "And it will be an honor to fight by your side, my friend!" _

Remembering the friendly smile of Koji, the samurai got more determined than ever to defeat his opponent. He shouted all his anger as he pulled out his sword and once again rushed at Blane. The swords collided once again, but this time it was the red haired warrior who was attacking and pushing the brown haired one in defense. His attacks were faster and he was channeling all of his rage in his sword's attacks. However Blane was not intimidated one bit. The samurai was finally stepping up his game a bit, but his moves were predictable and easy to deal with. If he were not entertained, Blane would have chosen to end their confrontation already. But he preferred to tease the angered warrior a bit more.

"You call those moves? Even my grandma could wield her butter knife better than you can wield that poor excuse of a blade." Blane provoked him.

The samurai angrily growled and charged once again at him, this time aiming for his chest but Blane blocked the attack with his own sword. Seeing that the samurai started meaning business, the brown haired swordsman leaned a little down and tripped his opponent making him fall on his back. Afterwards he put his sword's edge at his neck in a victorious pose.

"I guess I won this one." Blane declared and he received an angry glare from the defeated one. "Heh, you'll never become a true warrior if you don't manage to know yourself."

"Don't you lecture me about being a warrior, you good for nothing…" the samurai replied but then Blane's sword approached his neck a few more centimeters.

"Still have the courage to talk, eh? And yes, I think that I can lecture you about being a warrior having in mind the situation we're both in."

"Tsh… just tell me what you want from me."

"Tiger's cards, give them back at this instant!"

"Oh sure." the samurai started looking in his jacket's pockets. "Let me take them out of my…"

Taking advantage of the fact that Blane had lifted his sword's blade a little above his neck, the samurai immediately rolled away and got up with his deck in his hands saying:

"…pocket."

"You son of a bitch…" Blane uttered with surprise.

"Let's see if you're a worthy enough duelist to get the cards back!" the samurai challenged back and his deck glowed with a bright red aura shaped like bursting flames.

"Oh I am more than worthy!"

Blane sheathed his sword and took out his deck as well that was enveloped by a burning red aura. Two dueling tables rose from the floor and the duelists put their decks on them, set their cards and began their match.

Meanwhile in the room where Roger was playing the piano, the delicate notes of Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major were creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere for whomever wished to enter. And the doors did open, this time the person entering being another teen with yellow eyes, black hair wrapped in a pony tail, who wore a black tuxedo with a red rose in the chest's pocket. He kneeled down in front of the pianist who was still playing the song and said:

"Roger-sama, there are a total of sixteen participants. The shuffles for the duels are now being made. Between the participants there are Tamma Gochi and Tiger King, who were also known as the chosen fire and nature duelists. They might mean trouble for us, sir."

"Chosen duelists, eh?" Roger turned his head to his minion, not interrupting the piano playing. "I suggest you and Ren keep an eye on them. They might actually become a challenge for us if any of our members were to face them."

"Maybe we could make it so that they do not even reach their dueling tables and are disqualified for absence?"

"I like how you think, June, but I suggest we stray away from tricks so far. We should keep all our aces up our sleeves for the semi-finals and the finals."

"I understand, Roger-sama. Is there anything else that you wish to find out?"

"So far nothing, you may go join the others now."

June nodded to his master, got up and left the room while humming the piano's melody.

"Ah, if only more people could appreciate the beauty of the great classics." Roger sighed and kept playing along.

Back on the corridor, the duel between Blane and the samurai had begun.

"I cast Mendelssohn!" Blane said and he revealed the top two cards of his deck which were Hustle Castle and Cerulean Dagger Dragon, the first landing in his graveyard and the second tapped in his mana zone.

"I summon Dreaming Moon Knife!" the samurai said and then he also placed Bolbalzak Ex tapped in his mana zone.

"I summon Eco Aini!" Blane said and the top card of his deck that landed in his mana zone was Faerie Life. "Dang it, I'm not having luck with mana boost today."

"Speaking of mana, how about I slow you down a bit?" the samurai slyly asked. "I cast Faerie Gift and then I summon Geo Crashing Miranda, the Dimensional Force, and also by its effect I put Victorious Meteor Kaiser in the battle zone!"

A blue armored dragon with a fire horn as his nose and a flaming sword wielded by its tail appeared in the hallway behind the samurai and roared.

"And now all the cards that you put in the mana zone are put tapped." the samurai concluded with satisfaction.

"Tsh…" Blane spat and put Bolshack NEX in the mana zone tapped. "I summon Mach Lupia and end."

"Is there a problem? I thought that since you were an all powerful warrior you would also live up in dueling too. Guess I was mistaken." the samurai happily mocked his opponent and then he placed a Water card upon one of his Nature creatures. "I evolve Dreaming Moon Knife into Cosmo Cebu Lambda, the Super Electromagnetic!"

A dark blue robotic Alien that lacked a head and had three pairs of light blue wings appeared in the battle zone joining Victorious Meteor Kaiser by the samurai's side. Their owner then sent the card under it to the graveyard and said:

"Meteorburn, I send Dreaming Moon Knife to the graveyard and draw three cards. Now go, Cosmo Cebu Lambda, double break his shields!"

"Argh!" Blane shouted as he took cover from the robot's attack that broke two of his shields.

"Victorious Meteor Kaiser, break two more shields, ike!" the samurai ordered and the blue armored dragon swung its tail and the flaming sword slashed off two more of Blane's shields.

"Shield trigger, I cast Faerie Life!"

A tapped Infinity Dragon landed in Blane's mana zone.

"Geo Crashing Miranda, break his final shield!"

The elephant like Alien swung its hammer and used it to smash the brown haired boy's last shield. With that the samurai ended his turn.

"How do you like that?" the samurai asked as he crossed his arms. "In the fourth turn you lost all your shields before you were able to summon any Dragon."

"Yeah, you may be a speedy one, but that can't compare to the force of my deck!" Blane replied and then six cards in his mana zone tapped themselves as he showed a Fire card. "I summon Codename Balga Ragon! Mach Lupia reduced his cost by one and it also turns him into a speed attacker, so I attack Victorious Meteor Kaiser with Balga Ragon!"

The top card of Blane's deck revealed itself as Bolshack Cross NEX and since it was a Dragon, Balga Ragon's effect put it in the battle zone. The red giant horned Armored Dragon materialized behind Blane and roared at the samurai as Codename Balga Ragon took down Victorious Meteor Kaiser.

"Bolshack Cross NEX…" the samurai uttered and stared at the magnificent dragon as if he had seen a ghost from the past.

"Yeah, he was the former chosen fire card but since it has no more power Tamma gave it to me." Blane explained with pride.

"Wait a minute, who is Tamma?"

"Oh, he was the last chosen fire duelist, but now the chosen duelists are no more."

"Chosen fire duelist?" the samurai murmured and then he thought. "Did he replace me?"

"Anyway, Bolshack Cross NEX, destroy Cosmo Cebu Lambda!" Blane ordered and the dragon swung its sword and slashed the robot in two making it explode. "Then Eco Aini suicide with Geo Crashing Miranda!"

The parrot-like green bird attacked the elephant Alien and the two fought until both were destroyed. Then the two giant dragons disappeared and their cards returned into Blane's hand.

"Mach Lupia returns Codename Balga Ragon and Bolshack Cross NEX to my hand at the end of my turn. Let's see what you've got now."

"I've got to say that you put a nice show with your Dragons, but now let me show you one of mine!" the samurai replied while tapping six of his mana cards. "I summon Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon!"

A red dragon with a golden mane that was wearing samurai armor and wielding two cross shaped swords appeared behind the samurai and took an attacking position waiting for the final blow order.

"What a shame that all of your shields are gone and my Genji is a speed attacker." the samurai ironically stated. "Oh well, I guess that the cards of your friend Tiger will stay in my hands."

"Hey, no fair, I defeated you in that sword fight!" Blane reminded him.

"It's true, but from what you said I am not a real samurai. If that is the case, then I don't need to honor any agreement, especially those that I did not even make to begin with."

Once his little speech was over, the samurai tapped the Fire card and shouted:

"Genji Double Cross, todomeda!"

What followed next was a small explosion that stirred the building's alarms. As the security robots made their way through the smoke, the samurai rushed out of the corridor as quick as he could in order to not get caught. But once he reached the building's reception he ended up face to face with Subaru.

"And just what on Earth do you think you're doing here?!" the black haired teen asked.

"We meet again…" the samurai remarked.

* * *

_Blane(sitting at a table drinking a beer): Yeah man, the nerve of that guy to run away like that after I beat him fair and square in a sword fight! Well ok, he also beat me fair and square in that duel, but still, I proved him that I would make a far better samurai than that pathetic excuse that he is! Oh well, I hope that someone teaches this guy a lesson soon, because I'm fed up with his attitude._

* * *

_[In the next chapter]:_

_Subaru and the wandering samurai face off in another duel as the tournament begins. Tamma, Pyro and Rita go off on their first duels against three of Roger's minions while the pianist watches their matches and analyzes their strategies. What could the mysterious brother of Rita be planning?_


	8. You're gonna go far, kid

_Rad(drinking from a stolen cola can in an alley): Boy I never expected that there would be that many challenges in a single tournament building. I'm so tired after that duel that I had with Subaru. (takes another sip) Damn egghead… (sighs) I was also surprised by a certain contestant in that tournament. You'll see what I'm talking about._

* * *

The morning sun's rays gracefully shined through the windows of the tournament building and fell upon the reception, filling it with their powerful light so that the two opposing duelist could see each other better. While the surprised Subaru was sitting there stunned, the wandering samurai was lying on the floor with his feet crossed and he was using a handkerchief to clean the blood stains from his sword in a calm manner.

"And just what exactly brought you here?!" a rather angered Subaru asked.

"Me? The wind." the samurai joked while polishing his sword.

"Listen here, pal, you came here because the Doctor wanted to help you get even with Tabitha. So why don't you do us all a favor by ceasing goofing around and I don't know… looking for the damn witch?!"

"Sorry pal, but I do whatever I want."

"Oh no, not in my time you won't!"

Subaru's next action was to pull out his newly made deck that shone with a stronger purple aura than ever before.

"Is that a challenge?" the samurai yawned bored and turned his head up to the black haired duelist.

But right then and there he saw behind Subaru for a brief moment the image of a white goat demon with red wings that was lying on a green platform and had golden tentacles come out of its body.

"You could call it that." Subaru replied smiling with confidence.

"Was that the chosen darkness card?" the samurai thought while contemplating upon the vision that he had just had. "There's only one way I can find out."

The red haired duelist threw away the handkerchief, sheathed his sword, got up on his feet and pulled out his deck that was shining with a flame shaped red aura.

"Alright then, I accept your challenge!"

The two walked to a pair of dueling tables that were lying nearby, put their decks on and set their five shield cards. As they stood there opposing each other, both felt the power of their respective civilizations irradiate against the other. It was the match of Fire against Darkness. Yes, two civilizations that were united in their passion for destruction and common hatred towards the Light civilization were now going against each other. The samurai felt that there was a change in Subaru's deck. It seemed more balanced and from the dark purple aura it was emitting – stronger. As for the black haired teen, he sensed that the samurai's deck had become not only quicker but also from its burning red aura – more aggressive. All in all, both knew that their duel was going to be a match of epic proportions, so they both stood silent stalling for time until one of them would decide to begin the battle.

"Duel start!" Subaru broke the silence and his simple words caused their ten shields to materialize. "Someone had to say it."

"Fine, you go first." the samurai replied and watched his opponent place Maxval, Electro-Fuuma in the mana zone. "Maxval? I haven't seen that guy in a long time."

"Indeed, you probably must have seen the Castle of the Demon edition since it should be the most recent set back in your time."

But what Subaru did not know was that the last time the samurai had not seen that card was when he, the former chosen darkness duelist himself used it in duels. Sighing, the samurai finished reminiscing his old days and placed Bolbalzak Ex tapped in his mana zone.

"I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy her." Subaru said and made his opponent discard Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole.

"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy her." The samurai said and Evolution Totem landed in his mana zone.

"I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma."

"I cast Intense Vacuuming Twist!"

The samurai looked at the top five cards of his deck and he selected Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon which he added to his hand. Then Maxval also went back to Subaru's hand.

"I summon Jenny, the Dismantling Doll. And now by her effect I'll look into your hand and discard a card." Subaru said and the growling samurai revealed his hand – Red Scorpion, Electromech, Dreaming Moon Knife, Hyperspatial Shooting Hole and Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon. "How sweet… I'll discard that Shooting Hole!"

"Tsh, my turn, I summon Dreaming Moon Knife." the samurai said and then he put Red Scorpion tapped in his mana zone.

"I summon Batou Shoulder, Shadow of Fiction! Heh, now all your spells cost one more for each spell in your graveyard."

A blue ghost that had two burning candles on its shoulders and snakes coming out of its ethereal body appeared behind Subaru waving its cursed hands. The samurai looked into his graveyard and saw that all the cards in it were spells – Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole, Intense Vacuuming Twist and Hyperspatial Shooting Hole. That meant that all his spells now cost three more to cast.

"Why you little…" the red haired duelist abstained from insulting his opponent and charged mana with Hyperspatial Shooting Hole. "I guess it's time to attack. I summon Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon!"

The mighty red samurai dragon with golden mane appeared in the battle zone graciously wielding its two cross shaped swords. Its master then gave the attack order:

"Ike, Genji Double Cross, double break his shields! Then Dreaming Moon Knife, break his shield!"

Genji gave a battle roar and then the dragon swung both its swords and slashed two of the black haired duelist's shields in an X shaped attack. Then the small rodent like creature swung its knife and thrust it into another shield. And thus the samurai's turn ended.

A sudden sly smile appeared on Subaru's face much to his opponent's surprise. The former chosen darkness duelist gently placed Hide and Seek into his mana zone tapped and then he watched as the other five cards tapped themselves one by one. Then he selected a card from his hand and showed it to his opponent saying:

"I cast… Hyperspatial Emperor Hole! By its effect I give -2000 power to Dreaming Moon Knife and destroy it. Then I put Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier in the battle zone!"

While the small white rodent disappeared in an explosion, a black hole opened above the duel scene and out of it descended a horned skeletal demon in a golden armor wielding two blue swords shaped like scythes and who was riding a horned skeletal horse. The imposing Demon Command landed in the battle zone face to face with the Armored Dragon of the Double Cross. As the two creatures looked in each other's eyes, Subaru proceeded to give some explanations:

"Since you seem to be a dear fan of Genji Double Cross, I guess you recall the story of the five warriors that defeated Devil Diabolos Zeta, right?"

"Devil Diabolos Zeta?"

"Oh right, you're from another time so you might not know what happened. But I still wonder how you got your hands on that Genji." Subaru rambled. "Anyway, back in the days when Dias Zeta was rising to power in the Darkness civilization leading the forces of the Zeta clan, Black Ganveet was still a rookie soldier and he saw in Genji Double Cross a worthy rival. The two fought each other until the war began and obviously they went on different sides. However, Ganveet did not really like the rule of the Zeta at all and secretly conspired with Five Star of the Light civilization to dethrone his master. In the end he joined the five warriors that were lead by his former rival Genji Double Cross, and together they managed to overthrow the evil Zeta."

"Yeah, only for us five to have to repeat their dirty work later." the samurai thought as he reflected upon the Zeta Wars that had devastated the city over a year ago.

"Anyway, enough storytelling, let's get back at our duel! Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier destroys a tapped creature when entering the battle zone, so I choose to destroy Genji Double Cross!"

Black Ganveet's blue eyes shined thirsty for blood as he rode his horse towards Genji Double Cross. The dragon held his swords in defense, but the cold menacing blades of the demon managed to break them apart and tear through his flesh. Screaming in pain, the samurai's avatar disappeared and its card landed in the graveyard.

"And now I end my turn." Subaru said while crossing his arms with satisfaction.

The samurai drew his next card which was Jasmine, Mist Faerie. It was of no use to him so he intended to place it in his mana zone, but then he remembered that Black Ganveet would awaken into Darkness Ganveet if at the end of his turn he had no cards in his hand. In other words, he had to keep that one card in his hand unless he wanted to face an even bigger menace.

"I end." he passed.

"Hehe, my Ganveet's awakening now lies above your head like the sword of Damocles. It seems that your fire is starting to burn out, wandering samurai." Subaru teased him and then he began his turn. "I cast Energy Stream and draw two cards. Then I summon Jenny, the Dismantling Doll and discard that card from your hand."

Subaru's deck had definitely changed and the changes were noticeable to even the biggest noob. Gone were the graveyard suppliers, reanimating cards and Hunters. Now they had been replaced by discarders, drawers and Demon Commands. The deck was no longer combo beatdown, but hyperspatial control. And how much did it hurt the samurai now that his own hyperspatial beatdown deck had been countered. All that he could do was to pray he would draw a good card. Luckily for him, the card he wished for came.

"I summon Evolution Totem! By its effect I take Cosmo Cebu Lambda, the Super Electromagnetic from my deck to my hand." he did his turn in a nutshell.

Evolution Totem was indeed a great card for his situation. Not only did it provide evolution bait for Cosmo Cebu Lambda, but it also brought the mentioned evolution creature into his hand and thus he did not have to fear Black Ganveet's awakening.

"Oh, you're planning to draw cards? Cool, I guess I'll do the same." Subaru said while showing a Water creature. "I summon Cebu Aquman Jr!"

The top three cards of his deck revealed themselves as Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger, Maxval, Electro-Fuuma and Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger, all going into his hand. Afterwards he tapped three more mana and put one of them in the battle zone saying:

"Then I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma."

"Alright, I'm sick and tired of your controlling!" the samurai exclaimed and raised a card in the air which then landed on his table upon his Nature creature. "I evolve Evolution Totem into Cosmo Cebu Lambda, the Super Electromagnetic!"

A dark blue robotic Alien that lacked a head and had three pairs of light blue wings appeared in the battle zone and created a laser ball between its hands which it then cast upon its master's opponent as it received the order:

"Cosmo Cebu Lambda, break his final shields!"

Obviously the samurai used the creature's meteorburn as well and drew three cards as Lambda cast its laser ball upon Subaru's last two shields. And the cards that he drew were also a good catch – Bronze-Arm Tribe, Red Scorpion, Electro-Mech and Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon. Next turn he would summon Genji, kill Maxval or whatever other blocker the black haired duelist would bring out against him and aim for the win.

"Play time is over!" Subaru suddenly changed his voice to a more sinister one.

His hand erupted with a stronger purple aura than ever before. All his kaijudo energy spread far in the reception with great power as all nine cards in his mana zone tapped themselves and he put a card on his table declaring:

"I evolve Black Ganveet into Dorballom, Lord of Demons!"

The skeletal demon and its horse cracked open and out of them came golden tentacles that ended in goat heads. A pair of red wings flipped out making red feathers fly in the room. The samurai noticed the figure of a giant demon with six hands rise from the remains of what used to be Black Ganveet. A white goat-like head with a blue crystal in its forehead arose and opened its blue eyes that stared down upon the warrior in red. To the creature, it was its future prey.

"D-Dorballom…" the samurai uttered with amazement. "I was right; you did have the chosen darkness card in your possession!"

"Well what do you expect from the former chosen darkness duelist?" the duelist in black responded. "Anyway, when Dorballom enters the battle zone, all our non-darkness creatures and mana are destroyed!"

The only creature of Subaru's that got destroyed was Cebu Aquman Jr. As for the mana, all nine cards in his mana zone were either Darkness or Water/Darkness, meaning that he did not lose any. As for his opponent, his Cosmo Cebu Lambda got destroyed along with all cards in his mana zone.

"So much power…" the samurai barely spoke due to being stunned of the quick game change.

"This will teach you to not mess with people in my time." Subaru brought up. "Anyway, it's time to…"

Then surprisingly Dorballom opened his mouth and yawned loudly. Then one of the tentacles scratched the demon's head as he spoke to his master:

"Subaru, you haven't used me in like forever! And you expect me to be at my full capacity without a pizza?!"

"Yeah, it's nice to see you too, Dorballom…" Subaru sweated and then he returned to the game and tapped his card. "I attack with Dorballom, triple break his shields!"

"Oh well, I guess I'll have to wait for the meal." the demon accepted the situation and then he waved all six hands and created a huge purple energy ball which he cast upon the samurai and broke the three middle shields.

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer and send Batou Shoulder back to your hand!" the samurai said and then a blue surfer appeared and hit the blue ghost with its surfboard making it disappear.

"Then I break your last two shields with both my Jennies!" Subaru continued and the two white haired dolls dressed in dark red dresses jumped at his opponent and used their razors to pierce through his final shields.

"Shield trigger… I cast Intense Vacuuming Twist!"

The samurai looked at the top five cards of his deck and then he selected Come On Pippi which he took into his hand. Then he sent Maxval back into his opponent's hand.

"Heh, didn't expect this little turnaround, now did you?" the samurai arrogantly asked. "Even without mana I still managed to get a creature in the battle zone and leave you without blockers. How do you like that?"

"It was pure luck." Subaru shortly replied.

"Still, it seems that this luck was all that I needed to win. Aqua Surfer, todomeda!"

The blue surfer headed to the boy dressed in black ready to give him a direct attack but then the slick smile returned to his face as he showed a Darkness card and exclaimed:

"Not so fast there! Ninja Strike 7, I summon Hanzou, Menacing Phantom and give -6000 power to your Aqua Surfer!"

"No!" the samurai shouted as a purple frog demon appeared and used its long mace tongue to crush his last standing creature.

"Some people just don't know when to give up." Dorballom shook his head.

"I agree." Subaru nodded to his creature and then he turned to his opponent. "Now before I unleash the power of Darkness upon you, let me tell you that you should start searching for Tabitha and quit causing trouble around here. Otherwise I will have to take more severe measures regarding you."

"Tsh, I do what I want…" the defeated but still proud samurai replied.

"In that case… Dorballom, Lord of Demons, todomeda!"

What followed next was a giant explosion that shook the whole building. This time people that had come to see the match as well as security came to see what was going on, but the two duelists and their creatures had disappeared from the scene. While investigations were being made as to locate the source of the explosions, the one that caused the recent one was running down the hallways. That was until he met up with a rather tired Blane that had small scratches on his arms and face. The brown haired swordsman noticed that the one coming was not looking too shabby as well – his black hair was messy, his black T shirt was filled with sweat and there were some small scratches on his arms too.

"Subaru bro, is that you?" Blane asked while rubbing his eyes.

"Blane, the exact guy I wanted to meet up with!" Subaru exclaimed and finally ceased running. "Where have you been, bro? I haven't seen you in like forever!"

"If by two weeks you understand forever… I've been training along with my buddy Tiger for this tournament. We've been through some nasty adventures." Blane proudly boasted.

"Hehe, I bet." Subaru replied and played with his raven hair. "But man, what happened to you? Did you already have your first duel that you look like this now?"

"No, let's say that I've had a little encounter with a red samurai, and it was not a good one."

Upon hearing that, the black haired teen punched his own palm and exclaimed:

"The wandering samurai!"

"Oh, you happen to know him?" Blane asked.

"It's a long story dude, but let's just say that I brought this guy here to take care of a possible menace. However, instead of doing that he chose to waste his time goofing around and causing trouble." Subaru explained.

"And what is this menace that you mentioned earlier?"

"Oh, you didn't know? Tabitha Lenox got out of jail recently and she's once again causing trouble."

"Damn that witch! Why can't she just stay dead? I mean like seriously, Subaru, you guys have defeated her like five times already and she still won't give up!"

"I know, right? But part of her new scheme involved poisoning the mind of our dear Luna with hatred and convincing her into joining us. Not only that, but the same Luna that we know and love had taken Edo-kun and my beloved Tsugumi down. She knocked out both of them in a duel and she also put a curse on them."

Then a scene flashed in Subaru's mind.

_At the UFO's hospital room, the Doctor was scanning Tsugumi's and Edo's bodies with his sonic screwdriver in front of a worried Subaru. In the end the man with a bowtie came to him and gave his verdict: _

"_Even though their bodies are fine, they had been put into a state of coma. The reason for this seems to be of supernatural causes. Whatever made them the way they are now, it's not from this world."_

"_Tabitha…" Subaru silently spoke and clenched his fist with anger._

"_Actually, while scanning them I did see a moon mark on both their foreheads. It seems that the one who actually caused this is Empress Luna." the Doctor further explained and then he put his sonic screwdriver back in his pocket. "If we wish to heal them, we'll have to go after Tabitha and her cohort." _

"So what are you going to do?" Blane woke him up from his reminiscing.

"I'll go after her. Even if I'll have to split the Earth in half, I will find her!" Subaru replied with determination.

"If that's the case, then I'm coming with you!"

"No Blane, you've got a tournament to attend. Besides, I've got some other friends who are willing to help me out."

"If you're talking about that crazy samurai…"

"Wait a minute, how did you know about the wandering samurai?"

"He dared to fuck with me and Tiger, so I decided to teach him a little lesson. Beat him easily in a swordfight, but sadly he also beat me in a duel."

"Oh don't you worry, that samurai won't cause you any more trouble. Dorballom can guarantee that."

"I see. Good job, Subaru, I guess I owe you one."

"Nah, it's cool. Someone had to teach him a lesson. Anyway, when I mentioned some other friends, I was actually talking about a man who is so extraordinary that you won't believe it until you've seen him! And I am saying this to you, who had already seen many wacky things. Trust me; I'm on good hands with this guy. And who knows? One day I'll introduce him to you."

"Awesome! Oh well, I guess I should be going now." Blane turned around and was about to head to the arena when Subaru suddenly grabbed his right hand. "Huh?"

"Before you go, I wanted to leave you a little present." Subaru said and let go of Blane's hand that now held a purple token with the Darkness civilization symbol. "It's nothing much, just a little good luck charm for my bro. I hope you'll have fun at the tournament."

"Subaru…" Blane turned back to him and searched in his pockets pulling out a golden wristband with the Fire civilization symbol. "Here, take this."

"Huh? Blane, you shouldn't have…" the surprised black haired teen said while taking the present.

"If you gave me a good luck charm, I want to return the favor." the swordsman argued while patting him on the shoulder. "Good luck on your quest!"

"Thanks, same to you!"

The two brothers gave each other a quick hug and then they parted their ways. As he approached the exit of the tournament building, Subaru remembered the other reason he came there. The boy stopped, searched in his jeans' pockets and pulled out four cards. Then his left hand got surrounded by blue energy while his right one by purple and the energies irradiated the cards until out of them fell a black haired male with brown eyes dressed in a dark blue suit with a black shirt, red tie and black cape, who was wielding a lollipop in his right hand and a rose in his left hand.

"Ouch, what did you call me for now, Subaru?" the invoked one complained while rubbing his aching head.

"Atsuto, I think it's time I did what I should have done a year ago." the former chosen darkness duelist confessed and then he offered the Duel Hero the four cards. "Here, these are the cards onto which you are bound – Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist. From this moment on you are free."

"Wow, thank you Subaru, but why? You have no more need of my valuable strategies?"

"It's not that, Atsuto, it's just that I think you're better off on your own. Besides, I've seen your colleague Yuu at this place and he seemed rather sad that he had to host this whole tournament all by himself."

"Oh, a tournament? And hosting? Why didn't you say so?!" Atsuto suddenly burst and ran towards the arena. "See you around, my fabulous partner!"

"Damn, he can sound so gay sometimes…" Subaru thought while sweating with shame.

Later that day, after the security managed to stop the small fires of the explosions to spread around and everything calmed down, the public returned to their seats at the arena and waited for the tournament to finally begin. All lights went out and two reflectors fell upon the main stage in which smoke effects occurred. Out of the small smokes gracefully walked the two popular Duel Heroes that everyone knew and loved, Yuu and Atsuto. Upon seeing them, the crowd cheered their names and a huge round of applause showered them.

"Look at them, they're all so fabulous." Atsuto whispered to his partner.

"Yeah, it's all just like in the good old days." Yuu whispered back.

The two then put their microphones to their mouths and both made the V sign with their free hands as they chanted in unison:

"Welcome at the annual Duel Masters tournament!"

The lights slowly got back on as a monitor descended from the ceiling which had sixteen names on arranged in pairs of two.

"I am your always loyal host, Yuu the Passionate."

"I am Atsuto the fabulous Strategist, and we will be your hosts for this tournament."

"And as you all know, the prize of the tournament are the two new Victory Rare cards that both belong to the Zero civilization!" Yuu said and gesticulated to a glass cage in which two cards were lying.

"Assuming you've also read the tournament's rules; let us then begin with the first match!" Atsuto added and looked at the monitor. "And the first duel is: Tamma Gochi VS Campo Shorts!"

The two contestants walked to their respective dueling tables and soon Tamma saw that his opponent was a fatty blonde midget with yellow eyes and that was dressed in red clothes.

"Alright, let's get this started!" Tamma suggested while placing his deck on his table.

"Heh, I'll gladly kick your butt, ex-chosen fire loser!" his opponent threatened.

"And now… Duel start!" Yuu and Atsuto shouted in unison.

While the two players were setting up their cards, the samurai appeared at the contestants' entrance with a few bruises from Dorballom's attack.

"Tamma, eh? This must be the guy that replaced me as the chosen fire duelist. Oh, he's that kid from Hakuoh-sama's class. Let's see what he's got." the samurai thought and sat on the floor with his feet crossed.

"I summon Deadly Fighter Blaze Claw." Campo put a Fire card on his table.

"I summon Jooni Moririya." Tamma said and put a Darkness card on his table.

"Running blockers in a Human beatdown deck? How sad, I expected more from what used to be the chosen fire duelist."

"What do you know, punk?"

"Well for first, kiddo, I can do this – I cast Volcanic Arrows! By its effect I put one of my shields to the graveyard and destroy Jooni Moririya! Now go, Blaze Claw, break his shield!"

"Fire is the civilization most suited for beatdown. And yet here he is, using a Darkness blocker? And just how the heck does he want to break the opponent apart with a 3000 powered blocker that can easily get destroyed by most low cost Fire spells?" the samurai thought.

"I summon Straight, Fighting Ogre! By its effect all my Human evolution creatures cost 2 less to summon." Tamma said while placing the multicolored card belonging to the Darkness and Fire civilizations depicting a young boy dressed up in dark samurai armor and wielding a katana.

"Oh really? Let's see how useful your evolution creatures will be if you can't attack with them." Campo replied. "I summon Yuppal, Binding Guardian and tap Straight. He won't untap at the start of your next turn. Now go, Blaze Claw, break another shield!"

"My turn, I summon B-Boy, the Explosive and Vorg, Brawler of Hell."

"Hahaha, and you really thought that those stupid slow Humans can actually defeat my rush? You're such a disgrace for the role of a chosen fire duelist!"

"And just what do you know about being a chosen duelist?!"

"Nothing at all, kid. But while I may not own a Victory card like you lucky bastards do, I do know how to properly use the Fire civilization, and that's through rushing your opponent to death!"

"He's right. And so far it seems that his small Humans are standing no chance to that Light and Fire rush. Oh boy, just what were they thinking when they chose him as a replacement for me?" the samurai spoke in his mind and sighed. "Oh well…"

"And now it's time to end this. I summon Kodamanma, Gil Gil Puppet." Campo said and then he took one of the cards from his shields into his hand and quickly put the last two cards from his hand in the battle zone as well. "Then I also summon Tulk, the Oracle and Rhapsody, Guard of Hope. Now go Blaze Claw and Yuppal, break two more shields!"

"Shield trigger activate!" Tamma exclaimed while picking up one of the two cards he received from his shields. "I summon Moel, Lovely Ogre Sniper and destroy Yuppal!"

"Hah, you're not even targeting one of my untapped creatures? Boy, you must really be a beginner at this game."

"Oh yeah? Well it's time for this beginner to pull out some of his trump cards!"

All of a sudden Tamma's right hand got surrounded by a bright red aura and his final shield materialized in the tournament arena above him as a blue rectangle. The boy then tossed the last three cards of his hand in the battle zone that landed upon three others while saying:

"Since Straight and B-Boy are now reducing the costs of my Human evolution creatures by 3, I now evolve Moel into Onigauri, Last Attack, Vorg into Wrath of God! Valborg Now and B-Boy into Ogre Hell, Annihilator Fist!"

Right then and there the three mentioned humanoids materialized in the arena behind Tamma, one of them being dressed in a thick metallic red armor that had an X scar on its chest and cannons for arms, another was also wearing a red armor and had drills for arms and the third was wearing a darker red armor and had black cannons for arms.

"My gosh… he got three beat sticks out in one turn." the samurai whispered amazed.

"By Ogre Hell's effect I destroy Kodamanma. And now I attack with Onigauri, Last Attack which destroys all of your other creatures in the battle zone!" Tamma said and then Onigauri fired lasers from its two arms that cleansed Campo's battle field and afterwards he punched two of his shields.

"Shield trigger, I cast Volcanic Arrows!" Campo desperately said and one of his shields went to the graveyard as he watched Wrath of God! Valborg Now explode.

"Straight, break his final shield!"

"Ninja Strike 4, I summon Falconer, Lightfang Ninja and block Straight!"

A plane-like creature appeared out of nowhere and blocked the sword attack of the samurai-like humanoid, the two battling until an explosion engulfed both of them and made them disappear.

"In that case… Ogre Hell, break his final shield!" the red haired child ordered and in the next moment his opponent was rendered shield less.

"Grr… I summon Magnum, Fast Attack Puppet! Go, Magnum, break his final shield!" Campo ordered.

"It's over!" Tamma declared while tapping his Fire evolution creature. "Onigauri, todomeda!"

The giant sized humanoid punched his fists and then he punched Campo so hard that he and his deck were thrown up to the last level of the arena.

"And the winner is Tamma Gochi!" Yuu shouted in the microphone and the crowd cheered.

The creatures disappeared and their owner packed up his cards and ran off to the contestant's entrance. But as he got in, he found the red haired samurai who had gotten up on his feet. Now the two were face to face all alone.

"Congratulations for your first victory in the tournament, Tamma."

"Wow, who are you, mister?" the child spoke in awe of the warrior's mighty looks.

"Me? I'm just a wandering samurai that was passing by. I happened to see your duel and while I thought you'd lose to that rush, I was really impressed by the comeback that you've managed to pull with those evolution creatures."

"Hehe, it was nothing really." Tamma modestly replied while rubbing his nose.

"No, it really was great! You do have the fire burning in you, kid." the samurai insisted with his praising.

"Even so, I'm still working hard."

"Working hard? What do you mean by that?"

"Ever since I got into this game, I had admired two of the heroes of our day, the chosen fire and darkness duelists, Rad and Subaru. Whenever I got the chance to see them duel either on TV or even in real life, I was amazed by their strength and hoped that one day I would become as strong as them. That's why I am using both Darkness and Fire."

"And tell me, did you encounter obstacles on this path of yours to glory?"

"Yes, mister samurai, I had many tough challenges and there were times when I lost hard or times when I felt that I should just give up dueling since I was simply not good enough. But the memories of my two idols were what kept me going on and struggling to become a better duelist. Sure I still got a long way to go, but I know that I am walking down the same path as the two people I admire and I couldn't be happier."

The little boy's words touched the samurai for he had found his young self in them. He was too an ambitious kid that wished to reach higher zeniths in the world and join his idols in their fame and glory. And now here he was, in front of this eleven year old that admired his former self and wished to become like him. Sure he had many fans before, but to have an admirer that desired to walk down the path that you yourself had built was something even more valuable for him. For a moment the samurai forgot all about his revenge and let tears of pride fall from his eyes. He then leaned to Tamma who was surprised of seeing his wet eyes and he patted him on the head saying:

"You're gonna go far, kid. If Rad were here, he would be very proud of you."

"Gee, thanks." Tamma blushed.

"Now it's time for you go back to your friends." the samurai suggested and received a nod as a response. "I wish you the best of luck at this tournament! May you win and show them all the fire in you!"

"I promise I won't let you down, mister samurai!"

And so Tamma ran away and the samurai watched him disappear down the corridor. Rad then pulled off his mask and spoke to himself:

"In the end I was wrong; they did find the right replacement for me."

While the two fire duelists had their chatter the second duel had already begun. It was Pyro VS June and by the time Tamma reached the row where his friends Blane, Tiger and Rita were sitting, the duel had approached its hot points. Both players had all their shields intact and while June had no creature in the battle zone, Pyro had Qurian and Corile.

"I evolve Corile into Emperor Marco!" Pyro said and then he drew three cards. "Go, Emperor Marco, double break his shields!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Wedding Gate!" June showed the Darkness spell. "By its effect I put Codenight Last Propose and Codenight June Bride in the battle zone!"

"Huh? Darkness Angel Commands?"

"Yes, Darkness Angel Commands, and soon they will signal your demise!"

"We'll see about that – Qurian, break his shield! I end my turn."

"Perfect. Prepare to see the power of the Darkness Angels!"

"I've got a bad feeling about this…"

"I cast… Wedding Gate! By its effect I put Codenight Congratulation and Codenight Bouquet Toss in the battle zone! By Codenight Congratulation's effect I put one of my shields to the graveyard and now both of your creatures will be destroyed!"

"Not good!" Pyro exclaimed as he saw both of his cards bounce off the battle zone and land in his graveyard.

"Then by Codenight Bouquet Toss's effect I draw a card since one of my shields went to the graveyard. Now I attack with Codenight June Bride and discard two cards from your hand. Go, June Bride, double break his shields! Afterwards I send my last shield to the graveyard and untap my creature." June said and smiled admiring the despair from Pyro's face who had just lost Streaming Shaper and Emperor Tina. "Bouquet Toss lets me draw yet another card. Now attack, June Bride, discard two more cards and break two more shields!"

"Don't worry Pyro, at least he's shield less. You just need to get an evolution creature out and this guy is toast." the young teen thought.

"Afterwards I attack with Codenight Last Propose and put Codenight Star in the Love and Codenight Engage Ring Double Cross from my graveyard face down as new shields! Go, Last Propose, break his final shield!" June ordered and then his smile turned into a grin as he watched his opponent that was surprised of seeing him gain new shields. "I end my turn and put Noshire, Fallen Angel of Betrothal from my graveyard into the battle zone. Also since I have two shields Codenight Bouquet Toss turns all my Darkness Angel Commands into blockers."

"I'm not giving up that easily! I summon Tron and evolve him into Emperor Maribel! I attack with Emperor Maribel and meteorburn Tron to send Codenight Bouquet Toss back to your hand. Now break his shield!"

"Heh, I block your pathetic attack with Noshire and both our creatures die. How funny, you actually thought you had a chance against me. Oh well, let me prove you the exact opposite! Codenight June Bride, todomeda!"

A purple wave of energy came out of June's card and hit Pyro throwing him away from the table.

"And the winner is June Seya!" Atsuto declared and the crowd cheered.

"Now the next duel is between: Ren Ikazuki and Rita Thronton!" Yuu announced.

Upon hearing this, Rita gasped and put her hand to the left side of her chest. Blane noticed that the girl had panicked and asked:

"Is something the matter?"

"Ah am gonna face… my brother's strongest duelist." Rita murmured with fear.

* * *

_Rad(finishes the can of cola, throws it in a garbage can and puts on his mask): So yes, as you've seen, that kid Tamma made quite the show. I do have high hopes for him. As for Subaru, I'll be sure to get my payback for that defeat. But first I've got to find Tabitha and…_

_Lady(shouting): There he is, officer! He is the freak that stole my cola cans!_

_Rad(sweating): Sorry, gotta run! (runs away)_

* * *

_[In the next chapter]:_

_As Rita faces off against Ren, Roger makes his plans known to his minions. The tournament then continues with two new strange contestants dressed in robes facing off two of Roger's servants. Just who are these mysterious duelists? _


	9. Revelations

_Roger(playing Bach's Toccata in D Minor on his piano): Sometimes music is the best way of expressing your words._

* * *

The sun was rising even more upon the blue celestial bolt, indicating the approach of lunch time. Subaru walked down the street being lost in the crowd of people that were busy with their day to day lives. However he had other concerns on his mind. As he was wandering down the streets while staring at the ground, his mind was on the two important people in his life that were now paralyzed, Tsugumi and Edo, on his poor friend Luna who had been corrupted, on the wandering samurai whom he still feared that he might cause trouble and of course on Tabitha Lenox, who was the cause of all that mess.

"Master, we've got a serious problem on our hands!" a demonic voice resounded in the black haired boy's head as a dark blue demonic lion with two orange horns that were shaped like a V and four arms, two of which were holding two dark blue blades and one that was holding a sharp white cross, appeared on his shoulder. "It seems that things are turning for the worse."

"I realize that, Raion." Subaru whispered. "But listen, I can't really talk to you now. I'm on the street and I don't want people to think that I'm talking to myself and am crazy."

"That didn't stop people to think you were crazy before." Liger Blade remarked and received an angered glare from Subaru. "Yeah… anyway, how are you intending on healing Tsugumi and Edo?"

"The only way of doing that is by defeating the one that put them in that situation to begin with – Luna."

"You mean Empress Luna. But she is together with her master Tabitha."

"I know. That means that we'll just have to find her."

"But don't you fear that the wandering samurai might interfere with your affairs?"

"Let him, this time I am prepared for him."

"Speaking of which, master, don't you think that it is weird that his deck has such advanced cards for the time he was in?"

"You're kind of right, Raion. Back in those days they had cards from the Sengoku Saga, and yet he's using psychic creatures."

"Not only that, but look at what other cards he was using – Bolbalzak Ex and Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon. Don't they remind you of someone?"

"Yes they do, Rad used to abuse these cards like no tomorrow. But sadly, as we all know, Rad is dead…"

"If he were truly dead, then why did that Genji Double Cross that I had faced back then seemed so familiar?"

"That's nonsense, Raion, you must have had some kind of deja-vu. He is dead, I saw him die with my own eyes." Subaru denied. "Anyway, if you excuse me, I now have to go and make some shopping."

"I understand, master." Liger Blade nodded and then the demon thought. "And somehow I have the feeling that you are wrong about him being dead."

Meanwhile at the tournament the duel between Ren and Rita had long since begun. In the middle row Blane, Tiger, Tamma and Pyro were cheering for the cowgirl while at the last row Roger sat with his back turned to the arena, playing his piano while his henchmen were watching the duel. It was Ren's turn. He drew a card, placed it tapped in his mana zone as his ninth one and then he tapped the other eight and showed two spell cards saying:

"And now let's clean your field, shall we? I cast Miraculous Snare and send Cocco Lupia to your shields! Then I cast Panic Room which sends Bolshack NEX to your shields and breaks another shield of yours!"

"Uh oh…" Rita reacted upon watching her last two creatures turn into shields and then one of her shields getting broken. "His control is too much…"

"I end my turn here."

"Mister Ren has gained great control now over the battle zone by removing Rita's last two creatures!" Yuu commented.

"But that's not all; he also has the three untouchable blockers of the Light civilization in the battle zone – Perfect Madonna, Light Weapon, HEIKE Double Cross, Spirit of Gaga and Perfect Galaxy, Spirit of Immortality. Can she be able to get past his wall of defense?" Atsuto added.

"Come on, Rita! I know you can do it!" Pyro encouraged her.

"Yeah, show that Light freak what you've got, cowgirl!" Tamma added.

"Do you think she'll manage to defeat that defense of his?" Tiger asked Blane.

"I don't know. She's not really based on blocker destruction, nor does she use un-block able creatures. Let's hope she can somehow pull off a miracle." Blane responded and crossed his arms.

All of a sudden Rita's hand burst with a bright red aura as she tapped all seven cards in her mana zone and said:

"Ah summon Codeking Ludwig!"

A giant red armored black winged dragon with golden horns and white metallic gloves on its paws appeared behind her and then both her six shields and Ren's last three shields materialized. However, Ren's creatures did not.

"Ah yes, your Victory card, and the only King Command Dragon that your dear brother decided to leave in your care." Ren brought up.

"Don't you remind me of that…" Rita replied coldly.

"What's the matter? Are you still mad over Roger-sama taking your King Command Dragons away from you?"

"Oh, Ah'll give you more reasons to be mad about, you freak! Codeking Ludwig, break his final shields!"

Much to everyone's surprise, Ren did not block the attack. He simply grinned maniacally as he watched the dragon spit fire upon his three shields and take down each of them. In a matter of seconds the blonde boy was surrounded by shield shards. As the sharp shards floated around him, he looked confidently as his angered opponent and calmly spoke:

"Shield trigger…"

"Oh no…" Rita uttered.

The shield shards then united into three cards that went into his hand. He showed one of them to his opponent and continued:

"I cast Heaven's Gate! By its effect I put Lord Reis, Spirit of Wisdom and Knights of Cobalt, Spirit of Protean in the battle zone!"

"Nice comeback pulled by Ren Ikazuki!" Yuu exclaimed. "With that Heaven's Gate trigger he managed to supply his army of blockers with two more!"

"I agree, Yuu, and while Knights of Cobalt is one big fatty, Lord Reis should worry Rita more due to its effect of letting Ren draw a card for each blocker he puts in the battle zone." Atsuto added as Ren drew two cards. "Truly Lord Reis is a fabulous card."

"It's time to finish this!" Ren declared and then he placed a card with golden frames upon one of his multicolored cards. "I evolve Lord Reis into Alphadios, Lord of Spirits!"

The card shined with a bright light almost as if the creature wanted to come out of it. But it couldn't due to Ren not having a Victory card, but however the image of a blue eyed golden armored angel with valkyrie horns, three pairs of white wings and three pairs of arms that were each wielding sharp golden swords appeared behind him.

"Meet the King of Light, Alphadios." Ren introduced his creature not only to Rita, but also to all the spectators.

"Wow, even as a hologram he is scary." Pyro murmured.

"The chosen light card…" Tamma barely spoke.

"Impossible! Only Tsugumi has Alphadios!" Tiger intervened.

"That Alphadios is not the DM-15 one; it's the version from the Arcadias Knights DMC." Blane explained.

"A-Alphadios…" Rita spoke scared as she backed down trembling.

"While Alphadios, Lord of Spirits is in the battle zone, nobody will be able to summon non-Light creatures or cast non-Light spells." Atsuto explained.

"In other words, Rita's deck is completely locked down!" Yuu added.

Ren gently put his hand on the only multicolored card left on his table and tapped it while saying:

"I attack with Knights of Cobalt, Spirit of Protean and put the top card of your deck to the graveyard!"

The top card of Rita's deck was Necrodragon Abayo Shabayo.

"Perfect, a creature. Now my Knights of Cobalt gets +7000 power and triple breaker! Go, Knights of Cobalt, triple break her shields!"

"Argh!" Rita exclaimed and took cover as a wave of energy came out of Ren's card and took down three of her shields.

"Alphadios, lay your divine judgment upon her!" Ren ordered and the hologram of Alphadios swung its swords and used them to slash off Rita's last three shields. "Oh the irony… You, the owner of a Victory card, are not able to obtain a victory against a mere Angel Command control deck."

"You just wait, Ren, one of these days Ah will make you pay and…"

"Oh and by the way, I know you grew up in Texas, but it is pronounced 'I', not 'Ah'. Even your twin brother knows this."

"Just shut up, you good for nothing smart mouth!"

"Oh well, I will give your regards to him." Ren arrogantly replied. "Perfect Galaxy, todomeda!"

And so Rita was blown away by another energy wave.

"And the winner is Ren Ikazuki!" Yuu announced.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Roger asked his minions while he was playing the piano.

At the city, as Subaru was approaching its outskirts, he accidentally knocked up with someone and both persons fell on their backs. The black haired teen scratched his head and apologized:

"I'm deeply sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"Oh, it's no worry!" the Doctor replied and dusted himself.

"Doctor! Just what are you doing out here?" Subaru asked.

"Just sightseeing."

"Come on, Doctor, I know you better than this. You're up to something."

"Well since you're so curious…" the man with a bowtie answered while getting up and pulling out his sonic screwdriver. "I'm trying to find that Tabitha. She must be definitely up to something and I can sense her presence very close by."

"And you're intending upon using a screwdriver to find a witch with supernatural powers?" Subaru brought another question and got up as well. "Are you even aware of the danger we're facing? This witch has caused me and my friends more pain than everyone could have ever done before!"

"Yes and this screwdriver has saved far more worlds than you could ever imagine." the Doctor explained in a nutshell and then he pressed a button that turned on a green light on his silver tool. "Now let us find a witch!"

"Right behind you." Subaru nodded and the duo thus started searching the area.

Back at the tournament, the crowd was getting even more tensioned as the two hosts were about to announce the next duel. While Atsuto was taking a sip from a glass of cold water, Yuu grabbed his microphone and spoke into it while looking at the large screen that lied above the arena.

"And the next duel is between Humpty Manas and… Blaze? Now that's a weird name." Yuu commented.

"It's my nickname, smartass!" a voice resounded in the dueling arena.

The crowd's attention shifted to a duelist dressed in a long black robe with red flames drawn at the edges of the sleeves and on the hood that was covering his face, and a pair of light blue jeans. The robed duelist calmly walked to his dueling table and in a matter of seconds his opponent that was a slim young teen that wore a pair of sneakers, a red sleeveless shirt covered by an orange vest and had his head shaven everywhere with the exception of the top of his scalp where he had a huge brown crest.

"Alright, now that both contestants are here, let the duel begin!" Yuu said.

"Very well then, let's get this over with!" Blaze said. "Duel start!"

In the next moment both duelists set their cards on the table and much to Humpty's surprise, Blaze's shields materialized above him.

"Huh? So you're using Victory cards?" Humpty asked amazed.

"Heh, yeah, got a problem?" Blaze arrogantly asked.

"Oh nothing, it will be an even bigger pleasure crushing you to pieces."

"Let's see you try that, punk!"

"Alright, but to be fair, I'll let you be first."

"You'll regret it. I charge mana and end."

"I charge mana and end."

"I charge mana and cast Mendelssohn." Blaze said and then he revealed the top two cards of his deck which were Mitsurugi Boost, Matchless Dragon Demon and Truekaiser Max Adrenaline, both Dragons landing tapped in his mana zone.

"I charge mana and summon Smash Warrior Stagrandu." Humpty said and sighed while placing the Fire card in the battle zone. "If only I could be able to summon creatures into the real world again. It's so unfair that only Victory card owners can still do that!"

"Oh well, life's tough, kid. Anyway, my turn, I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy her!" the robed duelist tossed the Nature card in his graveyard as a green haired faerie dressed un a brown robe appeared behind him for a few moments and blew up, causing the top card of his deck to land in his mana zone. "Then I summon Super Go On Pippi!"

A bird of fire wearing a pair of dark green sunglasses appeared in the arena and flew in circles leaving a trail of fire behind her. The public applauded the spectacle made by the creature and a small smile appeared under Blaze's cloak.

"Are you done showing off?" a bored Humpty asked.

"Yes, I'm done alright." Blaze confidently replied.

"Alright, I summon Jet Drill, Advanced Soldier and end."

"Your slow small guys are no match for my Dragons!"

Blaze's hand erupted with a red light as he drew his next card and showed it to his opponent. Then a golden armored dragon with sharp paws, a long red mane and a five pointed crown on its head appeared behind him.

"I summon Oni Seven "Win", Matchless Amazement!" Blaze exclaimed and his creature roared. "Since Super Go On Pippi makes all my creatures with Dragon and Hunter into speed attackers, I attack with Oni Seven "Win". Now you have to choose one of my shields and break it."

"Hah, break one of your shields for free? Neat – I choose that one!" Humpty pointed to the shield second to his right.

The blue shield scattered into pieces and its shards united into a card that Humpty took into his hand and placed into the battle zone, making another weirdly armored dragon appear in the arena.

"Shield trigger, I summon Kokushimuso Kaiser "Sho x Katsu"!"

"But how? That creature does not have shield trigger!" Humpty protested.

"No, but my Oni Seven "Win" makes all my creatures with cost seven or more that go back into my hand into shield triggers!" Blaze explained and stuck his tongue out. "Now Kokushimuso Kaiser makes us play Hardcore Judge twice because I have two Dragons in my battle zone!"

The top card of Blaze's deck was Natural Snare while the top card of Humpty's deck was Reckless Cut Scrapper. It was 6 VS 7, so Blaze lost. Then they played Hardcore Judge again and Blaze's top card was Cocco Lupia while Humpty's was Mana Crisis. It was 3 VS 4, so Blaze had lost yet again.

"Hah, you won't activate whatever effect that thing had." Humpty laughed.

"No, but Oni Seven "Win" will still double break your shields!" Blaze reminded his opponent.

The golden armored dragon did a gesture with both its sharp claws that caused two of Humpty's shield cards to bounce off the table into his hand. However he showed one of them to Blaze and said:

"Shield trigger, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper and destroy Super Go On Pippi!"

"Heh, Kokushimuso Kaiser, double break his shields as well!" Blaze ordered and two more cards bounced off of Humpty's table to his hand.

"Shield trigger, I summon Sky Soldier Wingraios! By its effect I destroy Wingraios and you'll also have to destroy one of your creatures."

"I destroy Kokushimuso Kaiser and end my turn."

"And it seems that mister Blaze has taken control of the duel!" Yuu remarked.

"Yes, he managed to leave his opponent with just one shield by his fourth turn. Truly impressive beatdown!" Atsuto added.

"Don't get confident yet, cloak boy. I'm about to turn the tables around!" Humpty announced. "I summon Simian Warrior Grash. Then I attack Oni Seven "Win" with Smash Warrior Stagrandu!"

"Hah, and what do you expect that weenie to do to my mighty Dragon?" Blaze laughed but then he was amazed when he saw a beam come out of Humpty's card which hit his creature and made it explode. "Huh? But how could this happen?"

"Smash Warrior Stagrandu gains +9000 power when battling a creature with 6000 or more. Bet you didn't see that one coming did you?"

"Meh, so you got a couple of tricks up your sleeve. That won't stop me from winning."

"Oh, we will have to see about that. Anyway, it's your turn."

Blaze drew his next card and smiled confidently yet again. The six cards in his mana zone all tapped themselves as a dragon made of lava with fire wings and sharp claws appeared behind him.

"I summon Magmadragon Balga Geyser and end my turn." Blaze said shortly.

"Let the hell begin!" Humpty announced and tapped four of his five mana cards. "I summon Rothus, the Traveler! By his effect I destroy Rothus and Balga Geyser! Also since one of my Armorloids got destroyed, Grash will make you choose a card in your mana zone and send it to your graveyard!"

"Darn it!" the cloaked duelist cursed in his mind while sending a Codename Balga Ragon from his mana zone into his graveyard.

"And now it's your turn." his opponent passed.

Blaze drew his next card which was Natural Snare. That spell cost 6 but he had only 5 mana. The boy just placed the card in his mana zone and having nothing else to do, he also ended his turn. Humpty began his next turn with great excitement. He quickly drew and placed a Bronze-Arm Tribe in his mana zone. Afterwards he tapped five of his six mana cards and showed a multicolored spell, saying:

"I cast Reap and Sow! By its effect I put the top card of my deck into my mana zone and I also send Natural Snare from your mana zone into the graveyard!"

"Crap…" Blaze whispered upon losing yet another mana card.

"Afterwards I summon another Smash Warrior Stagrandu and end."

Blaze drew another card and then he looked at the battle zone analyzing the situation. Humpty had managed to gain control over the battle zone and slowly he was burning away all of his mana. He had to summon all the creatures he could in order to break his final shield and win before he would lose all cards in his mana zone. And so he did – all the five cards tapped themselves and he placed a Fire card on his table saying:

"I summon Shadow Sword "Yagyuu" Dragon and end my turn!"

"Heh, when will you understand that your poor attempts at winning are futile?" Humpty laughed and put another creature card in the battle zone. "I summon Sky Soldier Wingraios and by his effect I destroy both Wingraios and "Yagyuu" Dragon! Also, Grash makes you send another card in your mana zone to the graveyard."

"Damn it all!" Blaze spoke out loud as his creature exploded and Truekaiser Max Adrenaline fell from his mana zone into the graveyard.

"Wow, it seems that mister Humpty has managed to gain the upper hand in the duel!" Atsuto remarked. "With his mana burning Armorloids he managed to limit his opponent's options considerably!"

"Indeed he has. And now that he has built an optimal battle zone, he might soon begin to attack as well." Yuu considered.

"Your Victory card, whatever that might be, will not be able to save you anymore!" Humpty mocked his opponent. "Say your prayers, because your time's up – I attack with Simian Warrior Grash, break his shield! Then, Jet Drill, Advanced Soldier, break another shield!"

Two waves came from his cards which broke through Blaze's shields. The cloaked duelist took covers so that the shards would not hurt him and then he took the two cards in his hand and said:

"Shield trigger, I cast Natural Snare and send Simian Warrior Grash to the mana zone!"

"That still won't stop me from breaking all of your shields!" Humpty reminded him. "Smash Warrior Stagrandu, break his shield! Then, my other Stagrandu, break another shield!"

Two other waves came from Humpty's cards and took down two other shields of Blaze. He repeated the same move of taking cover from the shards and waiting for the cards to materialize and go to his hand. Then a sly smile appeared on his face as he showed one of them to his opponent and said:

"Shield trigger, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper and destroy all of your creatures!"

"What?!" Humpty shouted shocked as all the Fire cards from his battle zone bounced off his table and landed one by one in his graveyard.

"Impressive move from mister Blaze! With just two shield triggers he managed to wipe out his opponent's entire battle zone!" Yuu exclaimed.

"But will he be able to regain full control of the battle zone as well?" Atsuto asked.

"Soon you will be out of your misery." Blaze promised his still shocked opponent. "I cast Mendelssohn!"

The top cards of his deck were Kokushimuso Kaiser "Sho x Katsu" and another Mendelssohn, the first going to his mana zone tapped and the second going to his graveyard.

"Then I summon Cocco Lupia! Turn end."

"I summon Simian Warrior Grash and end." a now angered Humpty spoke.

"And now to end this – I summon Balga Raiser, the Dragonic Meteor!" Blaze said and then a fire winged black armored dragon wielding two swords appeared behind him and roared loudly at his opponent. "I attack with Balga Raiser and reveal the top card of my deck!"

Much to Humpty's surprise, the top card of Blaze was a Zero civilization Dragon, but moreover, it was a Victory card!

"I put Kaiser "Demon Fang", Zenith of "Certain Victory" in the battle zone!" the cloaked duelist announced and then a dragon with a long red mane, whose armor was alternating colors between yellow, purple and white, and that wielded a sword with the colors of the rainbow in one of his four hands appeared behind him.

"So that's…. your Victory card…" Humpty uttered with fear.

"Balga Raiser, break his final shield!" Blaze ordered. "Cocco Lupia, todomeda!"

The small Fire Bird with a little red crown on her head flew towards Humpty and hit him in the forehead with her beak, causing him to fall on his back.

"And the winner is Blaze!" Yuu shouted and the crowd went wild.

With Subaru and the Doctor searching for Tabitha, the UFO was now left unsupervised. Thus the samurai managed to enter it without fearing being caught. As the red haired duelist walked down its corridors, memories of his past life were resurfacing even more in his head. And how much he wished he could ignore them, but he could not. The images of himself and his other four friends hanging out together, having fun and being carefree, were stirring in him strong feelings of longing that were beginning to bother him more and more.

"Concentrate, you've got a mission!" he chanted his mantra in vain.

When he turned his head to the left, he noticed an opened door. The insight seemed rather familiar and something inside was pulling him in. Curious to see what lied behind the door, he entered the room. Upon setting foot inside, a huge wave of nostalgia hit him. The room was as messy as he remembered it, filled with random objects ranging from small rocket toys, rubber balls and dumbbells to collectible cards, comics and mangas. Its walls were decorated with posters of famous racers. The wardrobe was also open and filled with racer suits, all being the same – red with yellow flames.

"So in the end they kept it the same." he whispered to himself.

The samurai walked to the table and noticed that next to the laptop there lied a book that had a golden cover that depicted a young adventurous looking teen dressed in an explorer's outfit, climbing a pyramid and reaching out for a shining card that lied at its top. The book's title was: Dar and the lost city of Sandopolis. And then another memory flashed inside his mind.

_After the defeat of Devil Diabolos Zeta during the Zeta Wars, the chosen duelists had all been left with injuries, some smaller, others really nasty. In Rad's case, the clash between Last Storm Double Cross and Devil Diabolos Zeta had left him with some small burns and a broken leg and thus he was now lying in the hospital room with his foot bandaged by Tsugumi and surrounded by his colleagues. _

_"How is he?" Subaru asked his lover._

_"He's going to be fine." Tsugumi answered._

_"How long do I need to lie here?" Rad asked impatiently. "I've got things to do!"_

_"Well that all depends on your recovery, but I suppose a few days." the blonde girl answered._

_"Oh no!" the red haired boy moaned. "You can't do this to me! I… I… I'll climb the walls; I'll do anything to consume my energy!"_

_"Climb the walls?" Edo intervened and then he turned to Tsugumi. "Did he defeating Tabitha turn him into Spiderman?"_

_"No, neither did it give him any healing powers. That's why he needs to stay in bed for a few days." the chosen light duelist replied._

_"Few days? It might as well be a few centuries!" the chosen fire duelist complained._

_"It's not so bad, Rad." Sora tried to cheer him up. "You'll have more time to rest."_

_His response to her was a simple lying down on the bed and covering his face with the pillow, still moaning. Edo, Tsugumi and Sora looked disappointed that they could not manage to make their friend feel better. Subaru, however, was rubbing his chin, thinking of a way to do just that. And then it struck him. The chosen darkness duelist ran out of the hospital room and returned in a couple of moments with a book that had a golden cover. He tapped Rad's head with it until the red haired one took the pillow off his face._

_"What is it?!" Rad spoke annoyed._

_"Here, take this." Subaru offered him the book._

_Rad examined the strange object with interest. He tapped his fingers on its cover and then he opened it and rubbed them on the soft cold paper._

_"Wow, so this is how real paper looks like." Rad commented and then he noticed that there were words written on it. "Huh? There's stuff typed on it? Is there a site on this paper like Wikipedia?"_

_"Haha, no, silly, this is a book." Subaru laughed. _

_"What's a book?" Edo asked._

_"I only heard of this concept of a 'book' but never in my life did I actually see one!" the amazed Sora added._

_"Boy do you three need to get out more often." Tsugumi sweated._

_"So what am I supposed to do with this?" Rad asked Subaru._

_"Oh, books are meant to be read." Subaru spoke excitedly and began one of his speeches. "Mankind's most precious knowledge had been kept inside books for thousands of years. These collections of written paper will surely open a door to a brand new…"_

_In the next moment the book landed on Subaru's head and caused him a small ache. _

_"No thanks!" Rad said with a small disgust in his voice. "I so don't read! I am a racing champion, for crying out loud! Reading is for eggheads like you, Subaru, no offense."_

_"None taken." Subaru replied rubbing his head. "Though I do insist you read this. I think you'll like Dar, he's a lot like you – fast, strong and undeniably awesome!"_

_With those words being said, the black haired boy put the book on Rad's drawer and walked out the hospital room along with the other three, leaving his red haired friend all alone in the hospital room. _

_And so time slowly passed. Rad tried to kill it the best he could – playing with a rubber ball, eating, turning the room's lights on and off, counting the black points on the ceiling, watching the city through the window. But in the end all of these activities bored him and when he looked at the clock he saw that only ten minutes had passed since he was left alone. Annoyed, he growled and hit the back of his head on the wall a couple of times. Then he gave the book a second look. At first he crossed his arms trying to resist the temptation but in the end he gave in, shrugged his shoulders and grabbed it. After admiring the cover a few seconds, he opened it and began to read it, first out loud:_

_"Dar walked out of his airplane and took a deep breath. The jungle's fresh air was delightful and it was energizing him. It did not matter that he had crash landed right at the entrance of the jungle, none of his tools were harmed and he was more than ready for his journey. Seeing that the plane's engine could not be fixed and he was stuck on the ground, he packed up his trusty tools in a military rucksack which he then put on his back. With the deep dangerous jungle behind him, the vast desert ahead of him, the warm sandy winds blowing against him and a confident smile on his face, Dar was ready for yet another quest. 'Well alrighty then, let's find us the so-called cursed card and get home before supper' he anxiously uttered as he made his first steps into the hot golden sand."_

_And so the hours went by and Rad kept reading on the story of Dar's adventures in the Sahara desert in the search for the lost city of Sandopolis. But sadly, after three days, his leg had healed and he got up on his feet once again, resuming his old activities. He did not manage to finish the book and stopped fifty pages before the ending, right at its climax. The book had remained opened on his desk, forgotten ever since._

And now there he was, sitting in front of the book once again. As he recalled its story, chills of excitement went down his whole body. The samurai reached for it with his trembling hands, but then for a moment he stopped and thought:

"No, I shouldn't, I've got a mission. I can't waste my time reading books."

And yet the memory of the story and the book's cover were so tempting that he just had to. Sighing, Rad pulled off his mask, grabbed the book and sat on his bed, entering once again the adventurous realm of fantasy.

At the tournament arena, a new duel had begun. It was between a duelist that went by the nickname Trey, who dressed in a black sleeveless robe with green lines at its edges and on the hood and a pair of black jeans. His opponent was a rather muscular teen with his head shaven on the edges and the few brown hair he had left covering the right side of it. He was dressed in a sleeveless orange shirt that showcased his muscles better, a pair of tight orange jeans and a pair of beige boots. His face was similar to that of Humpty, meaning that they were twins. He went by the name of Dumpty Manas.

Meanwhile, upstairs at the highest level of the arena, the defeated Campo and Humpty were kneeling in front of Roger who was playing Edward Grieg's Antira's Dance on his piano with the victorious June and Ren by his side.

"We are deeply sorry for having failed you, Roger-sama!" Campo apologized.

"It is nothing." Roger dismissively replied, not turning to look at them at all. "Say Humpty, that Victory card… was it a Zero one as well?"

"Yes, master, it went by the name of Kaiser "Demon Fang", Zenith of "Certain Victory"." Humpty answered.

"Very well, then I want to get my hands on it as soon as possible." Roger replied coldly, being obviously more absorbed into playing his piano. "I need to be in possession of all Zero cards until New Year's Eve. That is when the ceremony will take place."

"This means that we have around three months and a half left." June calculated.

"I think it is decent time in order to get all these cards." Ren added. "I suggest that we make a list of all existing Zero cards to see which are in our possession and which we need to get our hands on."

"Excellent idea, Ren, you prepare that list and show it to me when the first round ends!" Roger ordered.

"Your wish is my command."

In the middle of the arena, things were getting really hot. Even if Trey had managed to bring out Dolgazer, Veteran of Hard Battle with the help of Kirino Giant, Dumpty still burned some of his mana with the ability of Metal, Dragon God and the effect of Reap and Sow. And now to make it worse, he had Time Tripper, Shadow of Stagnation in the battle zone which was stalling his opponent. Also, he had crossed Metal with the popular mana burning cross gear known as Bajula's Soul. And now it was his turn.

"I evolve Metal, Dragon God into Uberdragon Bajula!" Dumpty shouted as he placed the Fire card upon the other one.

"Tsh, lucky…" Trey murmured under his hood.

"When Bajula attacks, he sends two cards from your mana zone into the graveyard. To make it worse, Bajula's Soul sends other two mana cards of yours into the graveyard. Heh, nothing can stop my mana burn control, not even your pesky Giants!"

"Then why don't you come at me, bro?"

"No problemo! Uberdragon Bajula, attack and burn four mana cards!"

A powerful red wave of energy came out of his cards which pushed Trey's last three shields into his hand and bounced off four of his five mana cards into the graveyard.

"Time Tripper, Shadow of Stagnation, todome…"

"Not so fast, pal! Shield trigger, I cast Intense Vacuuming Twist!" Trey said and then he looked at the top five cards of his deck and selected Jasmine, Mist Faerie which he took in his hand. "I send Time Tripper back to your hand!"

"Heh, you're just avoiding the inevitable." Dumpty commented.

"Then shield trigger, I cast Transmogrify! With its effect I destroy Kirino Giant and replace it with the top card of my deck!"

Much to Dumpty's shock, the top card of Trey's deck was Greatest Great, Zenith of "Life". The hologram of the Spartan warrior wielding a giant spear appeared behind him, looking as glorious and imposing as ever.

"And now it's my turn, I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and break all of your shields with Greatest Great!" Trey said and the Spartan swung his spear and slashed all of his opponent's shields.

"Shield trigger, I cast two Mana Crisis and burn your last two mana!" a worried Dumpty said.

"Heh, I may have lost all my mana, but this game is still mine! Dolgazer, Veteran of Hard Battle, todomeda!"

Dumpty fell on his back defeated and the crowd cheered as Trey made his exit at the contestants' entrance where Blaze was waiting for him. The two robed duelists nodded to each other and disappeared in the tunnel.

* * *

_Roger(finishes playing Bach's Toccata in D Minor): That is all that was needed to be said._

* * *

_[In the next chapter]:_

_The tournament continues, this time Blane and Tiger having their own chance of showcasing the dueling skills for the world to admire. But Roger's turn to duel has finally come as well and he will reveal the secret power of his Zero cards. Meanwhile, as Rad finishes reading his book, the Doctor and Subaru search for Tabitha's lair. But little do they know that the witch is much closer than they expect. Will our heroes be able to find her hideout before she unleashes her new devilish plot?_


	10. The first round concludes

_Yuu(sitting at a table with Atsuto, drinking a glass of soda): You know, kids, when you are tired of dueling, nothing is better than the 'good looking evil genius drink'! _

_Atsuto(licks his lollipop): It's truly fabulous and it makes your hair look gorgeous and your skin sooth and shiny._

_Yuu: With the 'good looking evil genius drink' you are assured to gain Victory in every duel!_

_Atsuto: So buy it now and become a better duelist! (both make the V sign)_

* * *

The tournament went on, its next duel being between Tiger King, the former chosen nature duelist, and Nick Exen, a solid bald man dressed in a white shirt, a pair of jeans, with a big nose and red eyes. So far the duel progressed pretty good, building to an epic climax where Tiger had ten mana, three shields, Quatro Fang, Super Gang Leader and Quatro Fang, Soul Gang Leader in the battle zone, and Nick had ten mana, two shields and nothing in his battle zone due to Tiger's removal.

"Go, Quatro Fang, break his final shields!" Tiger ordered and the menacing white panda warrior used its katana swords to slash off his opponent's last shields.

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer and send Quatro Fang, Soul Gang Leader back to the hyperspatial zone!" Nick said and the hologram of a blue surfer appeared riding on its surfboard and 'hit' the psychic creature version of the panda warrior, making it disappear, its card bouncing off the battle zone and landing in the hyperspatial zone. "Also, shield trigger activate, I cast Faerie Life!" he continued and the top card of his deck which was Bolbalzak Ex landed tapped in his mana zone. "Perfect, your end is approaching soon."

"Oh yeah? You're the one to talk when you're shield less? Oh well, let's see what you can do, I end my turn."

"Very well then, I begin by summoning Goemonkey! Snake-Handed Boss! By its effect I may summon creatures from my mana zone!"

"And what's so special about that? You only got seven mana untapped and all of those creatures cost eight or more."

"Not quite all of them."

Nick then put his hand on the last mana card that he had gained with Faerie Life and with a sly grin he placed it in the battle zone saying:

"I summon Bolbalzak Ex! By its effect I untap all of my mana cards!"

"Oh crap…" Tiger uttered.

"Then I summon GILL Supergalactic Dragon which destroys Quatro Fang and sends one of your shields to the graveyard!" Nick continued and Tiger watched how his creature blew up along with one of his shields. "Still think you're going to win?"

"We'll just have to wait and see." the blonde replied arrogantly.

"Your time's up, boy!" the bald man replied. "Bolbalzak Ex, break his final shields!"

The hologram of the white winged red armored dragon with a burning X scar fired lasers from its shoulders which made Tiger's last two shields disappear. The teen took the two cards in his hand and showed one of them to his opponent saying:

"Not so fast there, pal! Shield trigger, I summon Blazing Tiger, Crimson Lord!"

A white tiger with black stripes materialized in the battle zone holding a flaming sword in its mouth which it used to cut the hologram of Aqua Surfer and make it disappear.

"Tsh, I end my turn." Nick said sweating.

"Time to end this – I summon Yattare Pippi and evolve it into Great Hercules, Giant Insect!" Tiger said and then a giant dark blue beetle appeared behind him. "I attack with Great Hercules and by its effect I put Silver Shovel in the battle zone! With Silver Shovel's effect I send itself to the mana zone."

"I send Bolbalzak Ex to my mana zone."

"Then Great Hercules, finish him off, to…"

"Not so fast! Ninja Strike 4, I summon Falconer, Lightfang Ninja and turn GILL Supergalactic Dragon into a blocker. GILL, block Great Hercules!"

"Nice try, but it's still over. Blazing Tiger, todomeda!"

The white tiger rushed at the tall muscular man and hit him with its sword, making him fall on his back along with his cards.

"And the winner is Tiger King!" Yuu shouted and the crowd went wild.

"Piece of cake." Tiger rubbed his hands.

Meanwhile at the other side of the building in a darkened corridor, Blaze and Trey were kneeling down in front of a girl dressed in a cloaked black robe with golden lines at the cloak's and sleeve's edges and that also had the Light civilization symbol on its back.

"So what info did you manage to gain from the tournament, boys? And I trust that you have both won your first matches, right?" she asked crossing her arms.

"Yes we have, Black Widow-sama, our opponents were no match for us." Blaze answered.

"As for the former chosen duelists, they were both capable of winning their matches with ease." Trey added.

"I say that they can take care of themselves in the tournament."

"Yes, it will be a great pleasure facing them, if we ever get the chance."

"I see. And did you notice anything out of the ordinary, boys?" Black Widow asked.

"Actually, we did." Trey raised his index finger. "There is this strange red haired guy called Roger. He is a pianist and he's got this group of weirdos following him around."

"They are all signed up at this tournament and from the looks of it; they most definitely are up to something!" Blaze pointed out. "What is it that they are after? We still do not know yet, but we promise we will find out in the future."

"Please do so." Black Widow insisted. "But for now I urge you to be overly cautious, for if anyone were to find out about your real mission, we…"

In the next moment Black Widow jumped in the air and landed at the corner of the corridor grabbing a small person that was spying upon them. Blaze and Trey both watched their master clutch the small spy with their jaws dropped.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Black Widow demanded an answer.

"I-I am C-Campo Shorts…" the scared person barely spoke.

"He is the one that Tamma faced!" Blaze exclaimed.

"He's also one of Roger's minions." Trey recalled.

"Is that true?" Black Widow asked the even more intimidated Campo.

"Y-yes, it is true…" the little teen spoke.

"Alright, then let the interrogation begin. What are you and your master after?"

But Campo refused to talk. That angered Black Widow who tightened her clutch in hope of scaring him even more. However, somehow his fat body managed to slip through her arms and the boy escaped the girl's grip.

"What I am after?" a now arrogant Campo spoke. "I have come to collect the Zero cards of these two, aka Greatest Great, Zenith of "Life" and Kaiser "Demon Fang", Zenith of "Certain Victory"! So if you two know what's best for you, hand them over right now!"

"Oh yeah? How about I hand you this instead?" Blaze asked while pulling out his deck.

"Oh it will be a pleasure pummeling you to the ground." Trey considered and took out his deck as well.

"Boys, stand your ground!" Black Widow ordered. "I shall be the one that faces this loser."

"Yes, Black Widow-sama." the duo complied and made a step back.

"And what the hell do you want?" Campo asked her.

"If you wish to get their Zero cards, you will have to go through me first." Black Widow affirmed approaching him with her glowing deck in her right hand.

"Oh great, another hindrance to my job… Let's just finish this quick, will you?"

"Oh don't you worry, kid. I will finish this before you even know it."

Their decks shined with great power and caused two metallic dueling tables to rise from the floor. The two players walked to them, put their decks on, set their five shields and thus their match began. The blue shields did not materialize on either side, appearing just as holograms as neither of them had Victory cards.

"I'll start! I charge mana and summon Deadly Fighter Blaze Claw!" Campo said.

"I charge mana and end." Black Widow said. "Boy are you a quick one, aren't you?"

"You haven't seen the half of it! I summon Sagrada Familia, Vizier of Instant Seal. While this baby is tapped, you can't cast spells that have shield trigger in their effect. And now Blaze Claw, break her shield!"

A wave came out of his Fire card and went to Black Widow's table, pushing one of the cards from her shield zone into the air. The girl took it to her hand and smiled under her cloak.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I already got my shield trigger."

"What the…"

"Shield trigger, I cast Christie Gate!" Black Widow said and then she looked at another one of her shields and put the card in the battle zone causing the hologram of a golden armored centaur demon with three pairs of white wings wielding four green swords appear by her side. "By its effect I look at one of my shields and if it is a non-evolution Light Demon Command, I may put it in the battle zone. So I now put Dying Message, Friction of Heaven Freezing in the battle zone! By its effect I tap Sagrada Familia. Also, Christie Gate allows me to draw a card."

"Oh no, she already got a big creature out!" Campo remarked. "I end."

"Much more is to come, I assure you! I summon Emeral."

Black Widow placed a card from her hand into her shield zone and then she took another card from her shield zone to her hand.

"And now I attack Sagrada Familia with Dying Message and by its effect I also keep Deadly Fighter Blaze Claw tapped for your next turn!" Black Widow said and watched with satisfaction how Campo's Sagrada Familia card fell in his graveyard.

"Grr… with that thing out, I can't have a stable battle zone. I… I summon Mestapo, the Patroller and end." Campo said disappointed.

"I cast Aquan Jr's Delivery."

The top cards of Black Widow's deck were Prison Spark, Codefight Alibi Trick and Metafiction, Ruler of Fiction. All were Light and all went to her hand.

"You're way out of your league, kid. You should have left my minions alone, tucked your tail between your legs and run away to your master. But oh well, it's too late to back down now. Dying Message, attack, tap Mestapo and destroy Blaze Claw!" Black Widow ordered and another card of Campo's fell into his graveyard.

"I'm not giving up yet! I summon Magnum, Fast Attack Puppet! Go, Magnum, break her shield!" Campo ordered and Black Widow took another card from her shield zone to her hand.

"Boy, you are a stubborn one, aren't you? Oh well, I can't blame you for trying. Dying Message, attack, keep Mestapo tapped and destroy Magnum! I end my turn here."

"Then it's my turn, I cast Volcanic Arrows! By its effect I put one of my shields to the graveyard and destroy your Emeral!"

"Heh, nice shot."

"Then I end."

"Sadly, that did not help you with anything." the robed girl broke it to him. "I cast Hyperspatial White Blue Hole and put Cheval, Temporal Demon Spirit in the battle zone. Also thanks to White Blue Hole's effect I also put one of my cards into my shield zone. Dying Message, attack and destroy Mestapo!"

"Heh, but when destroyed, Mestapo returns to my hand!" the short fat teen pointed out and took the card back into his hand. "And now it's my turn, I charge mana with Mestapo and summon Kodamanma, Gil Gil Puppet to take one of my shields to my hand. Then I summon Violent Children!"

"Violent Children? I've never seen this card before."

"Hehe, it's one of my trump cards. It makes all my creatures with cost 3 or less into speed attackers and it also makes all your evolution creatures and speed attacker creatures to be put in the battle zone tapped!"

"Aha, I see, so it is like a mini version of Eternal Meteor Kaiser."

"Yeah, you could call it like that. Anyway, I break another one of your shields with Kodamanma, which now has speed attacker!"

Black Widow took the card into her hand and she smiled with a slick smile. Her last two shields were both set up by Emeral and White Blue Hole. As for the card that she had received in her hand, it was a shield trigger that she had been waiting for.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Christie Gate! By its effect I put Codefight Misdirection from my shields into the battle zone!" Black Widow exclaimed and the hologram of a golden horned demon wielding a rainbow sword appeared behind her.

"Oh no, another powerhouse!" a scared Campo exclaimed.

"You got that right, buddy! And since it's the end of your turn and I have two Demon Commands with cost 6 or more, Cheval awakens into Cheuxvelt, the Awakened Demon Spirit! Boy, your life will be a living hell now!"

"Oh shut up!"

"Don't you worry, once this duel ends you will not hear my voice again. Anyway, I cast Energy Stream and draw two cards. Then I summon Aqua Super Emeral and replace my last shield with a card from my hand. Now I attack with Dying Message, tap Violent Children and destroy Kodamanma! Then I attack Violent Children with Codefight Misdirection… and I use Attack Chance!"

"Attack Chance?" a surprised Blaze asked.

"Attack Chance is a new effect that recent spells gained. By this effect they are cast when a certain creature attacks." Trey explained.

"Attack Chance: Unknown, I cast Zenith Symphony, Secret Zenith!" Black Widow showed the nine cost Zero civilization spell. "By its effect I now summon Suspense, Zenith of "Curse"!"

A white demon with mouths for arms, a long tail, bat wings for ears and a bird beak appeared behind her as a hologram.

"By Suspense's effect I now choose two of your shields and look at them. I will cast any spell from them and then put them all to the graveyard." Black Widow said but then she had the disappointment of getting Rhapsody, Guard of Hope and Disturbing Chuusa in his shields. "Oh well, send them both to the graveyard! Also, Codefight Misdirection, destroy Violent Children! Then I break your last shield with Cheuxvelt. I now end my turn and by Zenith Symphony's effect I return Suspense to my hand."

"M-my turn… I-I s-summon Hachiko, Jin's Faithful Dog." Campo said and then he searched his deck and took another Hachiko, Jin's Faithful Dog in his hand. "Then I summon another Hachiko and by its effect I take a third Hachiko to my hand. I end."

"Heh, and thanks to Cheuxvelt I get two extra shields." Black Widow replied smiling. "And now I guess it's high time you told me what your master is after before I blow you to smithereens."

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite hear you."

"Oh, you did not hear me? Here, let me help you – Codefight Misdirection, todomeda!"

A yellow wave of energy came out of Black Widow's card and hit Campo, throwing him away in the hall. Black Widow sighed and packed up her deck as Blaze and Trey rushed to her.

"Congratulations for your splendid victory, Black Widow-sama!" Blaze said.

"I did not expect less from our dear master." Trey added.

"Thanks, boys." the robed girl said and wiped the sweat off her forehead. "Boy did that duel tire me. I'll see you back at the mansion. For now I've got to go. You keep an eye on everything that is going on and report to us everything that you find out about Roger and his minions."

"Understood, Black Widow-sama!" the duo bowed in respect to their master.

Back at the tournament arena, Tiger joined up his friends at their respective row and as he sat down on his seat he hi-fived with Blane.

"Good job kicking that guy's ass!" the swordsman complimented him.

"Heh, was there ever any doubt that I could not do it?" Tiger boasted his ego.

"You were absolutely awesome out there, Tiger!" Tamma praised him.

"Yeah, you gave that guy a run for his money, partner!" Rita continued.

"When I had been told that you were the strongest of the chosen duelists, I certainly was not lied to!" Pyro affirmed.

"There's no need to thank me, I simply gave the best I could." Tiger faked modesty.

"Let's see who is facing who is the next duel." Yuu suggested.

"Next up is the match between Jessica Alley and Blane Kaminaga!" Atsuto announced.

"Dude, that's your call!" Tiger slapped Blane on the back. "Get out there and show her what you're made of!"

"Indeed I will." Blane nodded and headed to the middle of the arena.

And so in a matter of minutes he found himself in front of his dueling table with his shields set up, facing a black haired girl dressed in a short white shirt that revealed her belly button and a pair of tight blue jeans. Her lips were decorated with shiny red lipstick and her yellow eyes shined with the desire of a victory.

"So your name's Jessica, right? Cute name, I like it. And to top it off, it fits a cute girl like you." Blane flirted.

"Oh Blane!" a familiar voice resounded from the public.

Upon hearing that voice a shiver went down the brown haired duelist's spine. When he turned around and looked at the source of the voice, he had the shock of seeing in the very front row a blue eyed girl with her blonde hair shaped like a lion's mane, she being dressed in a short golden dress and golden boots with high heels.

"L-Leona?!" Blane shouted. "What are you doing here?"

"Watching the tournament, but I am wondering what the hell you are doing with your very own opponent!" the rather irritated girl replied.

"Hehe… we were just chatting. No biggie." he scratched his hair sweating.

"Make sure it is just a minor chat." Leona suggested him and revealed her sharp nails. "I wouldn't like to spill blood today, so don't make me."

"Is she your girlfriend?" the black haired girl asked.

"Sort of…" Blane mumbled scared.

"Boy I wouldn't want to be in your place, buddy. Not that your stupid flirting had any effect on me." Jessica confessed.

"Can we just get this thing started?" the slightly devastated male begged.

"Alright then… duel start!"

Thus their match began. Both players started by charging mana with multicolored cards. Then on their second turns each charged mana again and played a card.

"I cast Mendelssohn." Blane said and then he revealed the top two cards of his deck which were Mitsurugi Boost, Matchless Dragon Demon and Cerulean Dagger Dragon, both landing in his mana zone tapped.

"I generate Master Weapon – All Yes." Jessica said.

"A cross gear? I haven't seen those in ages." Blane commented.

"Wow, that is actually a cross gear being used after such a long time!" Yuu remarked.

"The last time cross gears were being used in Duel Masters was during the Sengoku Saga when they had support from the Samurai race." Atsuto reminisced. "It is nice to see them again after such a long time."

"Not that a puny cross gear will stop me. I charge mana and cast Mendelssohn again!" Blane exclaimed and this time the top two cards of his deck were Magmadragon Balga Geyser and Infinity Dragon, both landing in his mana zone tapped.

"Nice mana acceleration you got there. But I think it's time someone stopped that – I summon Time Tripper, Shadow of Stagnation!" Jessica said and then the hologram of a fat ghost with four arms that had a huge mouth in its stomach appeared behind her. "Now thanks to Time Tripper's effect all your cards are put tapped in your mana zone."

"Heh, a small hindrance, but that won't stop me." the brown haired duelist affirmed and put Eco Aini tapped in his mana zone, then he placed a Nature card upon one of his shields. "I fortify one of my shields with Hustle Castle! End turn."

"I generate another Master Weapon – All Yes. Then I cross Time Tripper with one of the All Yes cross gears! Master Weapon – All Yes turns the crossed creature into a blocker, gives it +4000 power and when it attacks it also discards a card from your hand." Jessica explained.

"Oh crap…"

"You can say that again! I break a shield with Time Tripper and discard your last card!"

The card that Blane discarded was Magmadragon Balga Geyser.

"Heh, I end my turn here."

"Fabulous move! That cross gear really packs a punch!" Atsuto commented.

"Right you are. Let's see if mister Blane will be able to stop it." Yuu added.

"Oh don't you worry – this game has just started!" Blane spoke optimistically. "My turn, I charge mana and summon Bolshack NEX!"

A red dragon with silver horns, big wings, fire hands, white armor and a long red and white tail that had a zig zag separating the two colors appeared behind him and roared.

"With its effect I search my deck and put Mach Lupia in the battle zone." Blane continued and a red bird with black wings holding a small fan appeared circling the dragon. "Mach Lupia makes all my Dragons speed attackers. Also, Hustle Castle lets me draw two cards. I attack Time Tripper with Bolshack NEX, destroy that little critter!"

"Tsh…" the girl spat as her card fell in her graveyard.

"Then by Mach Lupia's effect I return Bolshack NEX to my hand and end."

"You like searching your deck for Lupia creatures, don't you? Well then, let's stop that process, shall we?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh nothing, just this – I summon Mestapo, the Patroller and cross him with Master Weapon – All Yes! Now thanks to Mestapo, none of us will be able to summon creatures! Haha, next turn you're done for because I'll gain full control!"

"We'll see about that, I summon Mitsurugi Boost, Matchless Dragon Demon! By its effect I send it to the mana zone and destroy Mestapo!"

"Think again!" the girl said while taking the Light creature to her hand. "When Mestapo is destroyed, he returns to my hand."

"Dang it! Oh well, then I draw a card due to Hustle Castle and summon Eco Aini!" Blane said and then a parrot like bird with green wings appeared flying alongside Mach Lupia and it caused the top card of his deck to go to his mana zone, that being Bolshack NEX and which was also followed by another card, Faerie Life. "I draw thanks to Hustle Castle's effect and end."

"Then it's my turn. I summon Gaga Pikarian, draw a card and I also summon Mestapo, the Patroller. End." Jessica did her turn quickly.

"I summon Cerulean Dagger Dragon and draw two cards, one for its effect and one for Hustle Castle's effect. Since Mach Lupia makes all my Dragons into speed attackers, I attack with Cerulean Dagger Dragon, double break her shields!" Blane ordered and the red armored dragon swung its blue blades and slashed two of the girl's holographic shields, causing their cars to go to her hand.

"Shield trigger activate!" she announced. "I cast Hades Death Gate which destroys Mach Lupia and revives my Time Tripper! Also, shield trigger, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Cerulean Dagger Dragon!"

"Nice comeback with shield triggers!" Atsuto burst out.

"Indeed, people these days tend to overlook them, but Miss Jessica has proven that they are still strong as always!" Yuu intervened as well.

"Seems like the tables have turned, haven't they, lover boy?" Jessica mocked him. "I summon Berlin, Bell Gravekeeper. Then I cross Time Tripper and Mestapo each with a Master Weapon – All Yes. Now attack, Time Tripper, and discard a card from his hand!" the girl ordered and her opponent discarded Bolshack Cross NEX while one of his shields got broken. "Mestapo, attack as well, and discard another card!" she continued and caused him to discard Eco Aini as well as lose another shield. "Hahaha, you're running out of luck!"

"No, this can't be the end!" Blane thought and then he took a good look at the public, at his friends Tiger, Tamma, Rita, Pyro, and then at Leona. "I can't let them down, not now! And most importantly, I can't let him down." Blane looked at his pants' pocket in which the purple token with the Darkness civilization symbol lied.

Suddenly a pulsating wave of red energy came from his deck and hit his hand. Blane looked down at the pile that had a few cards left and then his hand shone with a bright red aura. He knew that it was coming. And when he drew it, a big smile appeared on his face.

"What happened? Why are you so happy all of a sudden?" Jessica asked.

"Oh nothing, I just drew the card that will help me win this game! But first let me start my turn by summoning Mach Lupia." Blane said. "And now behold the might of… Ogre Warrior Kaiser "Win"!"

A golden dragon that shined with the glory of the rising sun appeared behind Blane, at its chest it held an orb, one that gave it great power as a command dragon and the creature was also holding two shield-like disks both shaped like arrows and its blue wings were made of electricity.

"Awesome, he summoned Torch!" Pyro said.

"And with that Mach Lupia his creature is now also a speed attacker." Rita added.

"Heh, I knew that he wouldn't lose so easily." Tiger praised.

"Woo hoo, go Blane! Get her!" Tamma cheered.

"So this is your Victory card… I knew you had one ever since I saw you bring Bolshack NEX into the arena." Jessica said.

"Yes, and Torch is also my deck's avatar." Blane replied and tapped the card. "Now you're going to find out why! By its effect we shall play Hardcore Judge until I lose or stop myself, and for each time I win you will have to choose one of your blockers and destroy it while Torch gains +6000 power and breaks an additional shield!"

"But that's just broken!" the girl complained. "Oh wait… my All Yes cross gears turn my attackers into blockers as well. Oh no!"

"Let's do this – Hardcore Judge!"

The top card of Jessica's deck was The Grave of Angels and Demons while the top card of Blane's deck was Hustle Castle. It was 4 VS 5, so Blane won and Jessica chose to destroy Mestapo which went back to her hand. Then they played Hardcore Judge again, the top card of Jessica's deck being Batou Shoulder, Shadow of Fiction while the top card of Blane's deck was Cocco Lupia. It was 3 VS 3, so Blane won yet again and Jessica chose to sacrifice Time Tripper. Once again they played Hardcore Judge, and this time the top card of Jessica's deck was Lost Mind Torture while the top card of Blane's deck was Bolshack Cross NEX. It was 4 VS 9, so Blane won for a third time and Jessica had to destroy Berlin, her final blocker.

"Alright, enough Hardcore Judge for a duel. Torch, break all of her shields!" Blane ordered and the dragon swung its disks and used them to slash off the last three holographic shields.

"I… I got no shield trigger…" Jessica spoke with shame.

"Eco Aini, finish this, todomeda!"

The parrot flew towards the girl and poked her in the forehead with its beak, causing her to fall on her back defeated.

"And the winner is Blane Kaminaga!" Atsuto announced and the crowd did its cheering game yet again.

Blane packed up his cards and then he showed off by bowing in front of the crowd, thanking them for their support and obviously receiving applause. Afterwards he walked back to his seat and passed by Leona to whom he gave a smile but received nothing in return.

"Way to go, Blane, you showed that girl who the true Sheriff in the town is!" Rita complimented him in her own way.

"Yeah, your Dragon deck is really strong, I still can't believe I was lucky enough to defeat it back then." Pyro modestly recalled.

"Go, Blane! Go, Blane!" Tamma cheered and jumped on his shoulders, holding onto his head.

"Woah, get off me!" Blane struggled not to fall on the stairs.

"Haha, looks like you've got yourself a new fan." Tiger joked. "Though in all seriousness, good job there, dude. Splendid victory!"

"Thanks, Tiger…" Blane barely spoke due to the heaviness of Tamma's body pressing on his back.

At the UFO, as time went by, Rad had finally managed to reach the final page of the book he was reading.

"And as he ran off with the cursed card in his possession, he heard the evil doctor Albert's shouts of wrath from behind: 'Curse you, Dar! One of these days I will have my revenge!', but instead of intimidating him, it only amused him even more. The doctor who had tried so hard to trap him in that pyramid had now himself ended up in his own trap. And to make it worse for him, he had accidentally pressed the button that activated the machine which brought up the whole city of Sandopolis from its underground sandy hideout. But now it was doing the exact opposite – it was sinking the entire city back where it was hidden for the past two thousand years. And it was pulling the doctor and his cohorts with it. 'This should keep them busy for a few months… or years.' Dar joked as he followed his own steps in the sand back to his crashed airplane. With the cursed card of Dorballom, Lord of Demons in his hands, another mission was successfully completed and the world was once again saved, thanks to the adventurous duelist Dar."

Rad closed the book with a big smile on his face. But it was different; for it was the first time he had smiled with happiness ever since he came back. The red haired teen fell on his bed, his head landing on his comfortable pillow, and he sighed and hugged the book tightly.

"Boy did that feel good. Now I remember why reading is so much fun, it takes your mind off so many things." Rad contemplated while staring at the ceiling. "Everything now seems like one huge nightmare."

Now his mind was set on totally different objectives: finding the next book in 'The Adventures of Dar' series, getting a chili dog and a can of coca cola, having a good duel and taking his rocket out for a ride. Then it struck him. He had not seen his precious rocket for over a year.

He got up, hid the book in his vest, picked up his mask and ran with the speed of an athlete to the garage. When he opened the door, he was greeted by the chilling air of a dark closed room. When he turned on the lights, he was surprised of seeing that dust had settled upon every possible object from the garage. To top it off, all its objects were in the exact way he had left them, as a sign that nobody had entered it ever since he had apparently died.

And there it stood, in the middle of the garage, with the lights shining upon it, catching the sight of anyone who entered it. The red racing rocket with yellow flames painted on it looked as awesome as ever. Rad slowly approached it, with each step that he took; his heart was beating faster and faster. To him it was like approaching a powerful divinity that made him look like an insignificant worm in comparison. His hands trembled as he touched its metallic walls, almost as if he was committing a blasphemy by tainting the divine with his unworthy palms. But he had to feel its steel coldness, for it reminded him of the loud energetic sound of its motors and the speed with which he seared through the air.

"Those were the good old days." Rad sighed. "Back then we didn't have to worry about anything except protecting the world. Back when we were five. Who would've thought that life would take us on such separate ways?"

"Now this is the master Rad that I remember!" Genji said and appeared as a small version of himself on his shoulder. "I don't know what happened to you, but you finally are back. I am pleased."

"Oh Genji, Genji, you're the only one who went through this whole madness with me. You're always so loyal. Why did you not forsake me when you saw me pick the path of vengeance?"

"You know very well that I cannot do that. Besides, what is a soldier without a leader?"

"A soldier still. Just like how a duelist without a deck is also still a duelist, as long as he has the knowledge of the game."

"You speak such truth and yet you still struggle on this path of the warrior that you have chosen. Maybe you should turn back and pick another path. There is still time."

Rad took another good look at his rocket and recalled all the happy times that he had spent together with the chosen duelists, the training he had in his younger years at the Temple, all the wacky adventures they had gone through and the warmth he felt for finally being part of a group. Then he looked at his golden samurai mask and remembered the year he spent in Japan training alongside Koji at the camp of the Genji, the few battles they fought in, the warmth that he felt from having even just one best friend, and then inevitably came the heartbreaking sorrow of seeing his own clan slaughtered, and he knew it was not the fault of the Heike, but the fault of Tabitha, for he had seen her at their palace, cackling and drinking, enjoying the massacre. And then it struck him, it was not a matter of choosing a new life; it was a matter of honor and revenge.

"I'm sorry, Genji." Rad confessed. "But the sole reason I came here is to take that witch down once and for all. What happens afterwards… will be decided by time."

"I understand." Genji lowered his head. "I respect your decision, master, and I swear that I will follow you even in the most raging inferno."

And so Rad put on his samurai mask and left the UFO. At first he turned back and gave it one final look, but then he resumed his quest, disappearing in the city.

Back at the tournament, the crowd was getting more and more nervous as the two Duel Heroes stood silent while looking down some papers. They were in their break and their tiredness was easily seen. It had been a busy day for them both and all they wanted was to go have a drink and chat, for it had been a long time since they last saw each other.

"Let's just get this over with, shall we?" Atsuto suggested.

"Very well then." Yuu replied and then he spoke in his microphone. "Alright people, the last duel for today is between Yanus Beat and Roger Thornton!"

"The contestants are called to join the dueling tables now." the black haired Duel Hero added.

At the final level of the arena, Campo, Humpty, Dumpty, Nick, Jessica, June and Ren watched how their master Roger elegantly descended the stairs. As he walked past Blane and his group, they all felt eerie and a chill vibrated down their bodies.

"So this is your brother…" Pyro remarked.

"Yeah, and Ah tell you, he means trouble." Rita warned them.

"How so? He doesn't look that dangerous." Blane lied in an attempt to gain more info from the girl.

"He may look innocent, but trust me, there's more than meets the eye with him. He's no good news at all." the red haired sister insisted.

"Heh, let's see what he's got." Tiger suggested and crossed his arms looking at the dueling tables.

Roger walked up to his dueling table and graciously shuffled his deck while fixing his melancholic green eyes upon his opponent – a preteen red haired boy with blue eyes dressed in a school uniform. For a moment, the child reminded Roger of himself when he was of that age. But those times were long gone and he had a duel to win.

"Let the duel begin!" Roger announced and with a single wave of his left hand the top five cards of his deck landed onto his shield zone one by one and his five shields materialized above him, afterwards another five cards went from the top of his deck into his right hand.

"Duel start!" Yanus replied and set his cards as well, him getting holographic shields.

"I charge mana and end my turn." Roger said placing Codeking Wilhelm tapped in his mana zone.

"I charge mana and end." Yanus said putting Hot Spring Crimson Meow tapped in his mana zone.

"I charge mana and cast Mendelssohn!" the pianist spoke revealing the top two cards of his deck as Mitsurugi Boost, Matchless Dragon Demon and Chopin, Dragon King, both which joined Wilhelm and Cocco Lupia in the mana zone.

"I charge mana and summon Rikabu's Screwdriver!" the young school boy spoke and a robotic red screwdriver creature appeared behind him as a hologram.

"I charge mana and cast another Mendelssohn!"

This time the top cards of Roger's deck were Necrodragon Abayo Shabayo and Codeking Mozart, both which landed at the right of his Trueking Viola Sonata in his mana zone.

"Then I also cast Faerie Life!" Roger continued and Necrodragon Odol Needle also landed in his mana zone.

"Great mana boost from Mister Roger!" Yuu commented.

"Yes, he has already reached eight mana in his third turn." Atsuto added.

"I charge mana and cast Hyperspatial Extra Hole!" Yanus said and put the two Mendelssohn spells of Roger to the bottom of his deck. "I put Deepsea Yanus, Temporal Warpanther in the battle zone. Then I break one of your shields with Rikabu's Screwdriver!"

A wave of energy came out of his cards and broke Roger's middle shield to pieces. He stood still as a statue while the shield shards went past him and then he reached his left hand in the air when the same shards began uniting themselves and turned into a card.

"Shield trigger, I cast Faerie Life." Roger said and a Mendelssohn landed in his mana zone tapped. "And now I guess it is my turn, no? Very well, I charge mana and summon Beethoven, Zenith of "Horror"!"

All of a sudden, a giant blue armored dragon wielding a sharp golden spear shield in its left hand and a golden shield shaped after the sol key in its right hand. The dragon looked upon the whole arena of amazed people with a bloodthirsty look on its face. The left hand of Roger that had his white glove with the Zero civilization mark shined with a bright silver aura.

"Ladies and gentlemen, meet Beethoven, my very own Victory card!" Roger introduced his Zenith to the crowd.

"It's huge…" the shocked Yanus uttered.

"When Beethoven is summoned, I may return three Dragons from my mana zone or graveyard into my hand, then I may put the top three cards of my deck into the mana zone, tap Beethoven and your creatures will have to attack him if they attack." the red haired pianist explained with a sudden maniacal grin on his face.

The cards of Mitsurugi Boost, Matchless Dragon Demon, Necrodragon Abayo Shabayo and Codeking Mozart all went from Roger's mana zone back into his hand and the top three cards of his deck which were Faerie Life, Cocco Lupia and Codeking Wilhelm all went into his mana zone. Afterwards the Zero civilization creature card tapped itself and he ended.

"I…I summon Disturbing Chuusa and… and end." the school boy barely spoke.

"And now it is time to mark the end!" Roger announced and then his left hand that was covered by the black, green and red glove shone with a bright purple aura as he placed Necrodragon Abayo Shabayo in his mana zone and all eleven cards tapped themselves. "I summon Codeking Mozart!"

In the next moment a giant horrifying looking black dragon dressed in a sharp black and golden armor with purple spears at its edges appeared behind Roger and shrieked so loudly that it shook the whole arena. The holograms of the poor boy's creatures were long gone and now he lied at the pianist's mercy.

"When Codeking Mozart is put in the battle zone, all creatures that are not Dragons are destroyed. Also, all of your Dragons, if you use any, will not be able to attack." Roger explained with a vile tone in his voice. "Now go, Beethoven, triple break his shields!"

A single attack from Roger's creature was enough to send a shockwave that not only did it break three of the boy's holographic shields, but it also caused him to fall and land on the cold metallic floor on his butt. The child was horrified with Roger's Dragons and fearing that he might be harmed by them, he got up and ran away, leaving his cards to be scattered on the floor.

"I give up! I give up!" Yanus cried and rushed down the contestant's entrance.

"And the winner is Roger Thornton!" Atsuto announced but this time the crowd did not cheer, for a good chunk of it had already left.

"Alright, the first round of the Duel Masters tournament ends here. Be sure to check in next week at the same hour, same day, same place, for the second round!" Yuu added. "But for now, this is Yuu the Passionate…"

"And Atsuto the Fabulous…"

"And we wish you good luck and more Victory to your duels!" both chanted in unison.

Thus the lights in the arena went off along with Roger's creatures. The people that remained on their seats got up and left, nobody daring to make eye contact with the gloomy pianist.

As the crowd was making its way out of the building, Leona walked out of it and hid in a darkened room waiting for Blane and his friends to appear so that she could chat with them. But then, just then, she felt a cold hand touch her shoulder. The girl jumped and turned around with her sharp nails ready for attack, but then she saw that the one behind her was Tabitha Lenox.

"Hey, I know you… You're that witch that caused the chosen duelists lots of problems." Leona said.

"My name is Tabitha Lenox, dear. And we two have a lot to talk." the witch replied grinning evilly.

* * *

_Atsuto(sitting at a table licking his lollipop): I can't believe that we were forced to star in that ridiculous commercial!_

_Yuu(spinning a spoon in a glass of cocktail): It was either the commercial or no money._

_Atsuto: I guess you're right. So what job do you have next?_

_Yuu: Let's see. (searches on his iPad) There's this old rich lady that wants to have some young boys to clean her up and change her diapers._

_Atsuto: Eew, no thanks! (disgusted) I can't go that low!_

_Yuu(sighs): If only hosting tournaments brought us more money. I know, maybe there are some other tournaments that need hosting._

_Atsuto: Actually, you know what? Maybe we should do what the chosen duelists did and save the world! Surely that's a better paid job._

_Yuu(bursts out laughing): Boy Atsuto, you're such a joker, hahaha!_

_Atsuto(embarrassed): What? What's so funny? Tell me, Yuu!_

* * *

_[In the next chapter]:_

_Subaru and the Doctor finally find out Tabitha's hideout and the wandering samurai joins them on their trip. But the witch has prepared many deadly traps as she awaits their arrival. Will our heroes be able to survive and stop her devious plot?_


	11. Battle at the floating castle

_Leona(eating grapes while lying on a golden couch): Ah, this is the life! Oh, I didn't notice you guys were here. Well since you're here, I've got to tell you, joining Tabitha was the best thing that could've happened to me! No joke. (finishes her grape and takes another one from a large bowl lying on a table next to her couch) I've had so much fun messing around with that Doctor and that wannabe Lion Subaru. Hmm, maybe I should talk Blane into coming with us. Anyhow, I'll let you see me in action, and by that I mean trolling those two losers. (resumes eating her grapes)_

* * *

Luna opened her eyes and stared at the pale blue ceiling above her. She felt the coziness of silk sheets that were covering her, her head was lying relaxed on an Arabian pillow and she herself had been sleeping on a wooden bed with a water mattress. She took a look around and noticed how the walls of the room were all pale blue and that on her bed's right there was an opened balcony through which she could admire the beauty of the sea at night time.

"What happened?" she asked as she rubbed her head with her palm.

And then it all struck in her mind. The loneliness experienced over the last weeks, the sadness of not having any friends, the comfort found under the moon's rays, the wrath that she felt against those whom she thought of as friends, the oath that she had sworn to Tabitha, the promise of an eternal night, Tsugumi screaming her name as the Lunatic Gods finished her off, the hopeless look on the defeated Edo's face, the shocked beyond compare Subaru as he saw her switch sides, and the last thing she remembered was the Doctor's Onimaru "Head" attacking her with its sword and knocking her off unconscious. After all this, there was only one question ringing in her mind:

"All that hatred… is it worth it?"

The next thing she heard was the creak of a door. The girl turned to her left and saw Tabitha walking in majestically.

"Ah, you are finally awake, Luna." the witch happily uttered.

"Where are we, Tabitha-sama?" the blue haired empress asked.

"While you were asleep, I took the liberty of creating this crystal palace as a hideout and recruiting a new minion."

"A minion?"

"That would be me." an all-too-familiar voice resounded from the opened door at which a certain blonde girl soon appeared. "Long time no see, Luna."

"Leona?" a dumbfounded Luna replied. "What are you doing here?"

"Let's just say that I am bored and Tabitha over here promised me some action." Leona explained as she slowly walked in the room like a predator.

"In all honesty, Leona, I never expected that we would meet again under these circumstances."

"Same here, moon girl, same here."

"Girls, I am sorry to cut your emotional encounter short, but I am afraid we've got business to take care of." Tabitha intervened and caught the two girls' attention. "The Doctor will soon come along with his pathetic assistant that we all know as the gloomy brat Subaru. That means that we must prepare to greet them properly, am I right?"

"Yes." the two girls nodded and a vile smile appeared on the witch's face.

"Then let's get ready for the party!"

Meanwhile at the city, it was past midnight and there was barely any person to be found on the streets. However there were the eternal wanderers Subaru and the Doctor who had recently been kicked out of a grocery store. And now there they were, going down the sidewalk, the black haired looking disappointed while the brown haired was all jolly.

"So Porsche, where else should we search for the witch?" the Doctor asked while waving his sonic screwdriver.

"I don't think there's any other place we can wreck with our 'searching'." Subaru replied irritated.

"What do you mean by wrecking up? All we did was to investigate even the most hidden corners of rooms."

"And in doing so you frigging blew things up, tore holes in the walls, decomposed matter and created wormholes, all while terrifying the living shit out of people."

"Ah no worries, we got those things fixed, so what's the harm anyway?"

"What the harm? What the stupid frigging harm?! Oh I'll tell you what the harm is…"

Before Subaru could finish his sentence, he was cut by the Doctor whose facial expression changed to that of a stunned man as he pointed to the horizon. The darkness duelist turned and had the shock of seeing a large crystal castle floating above the sea.

"Does this Tabitha like castles, Cielo?" the Doctor whispered.

"Oh she does quite a lot actually." Subaru whispered back.

"Then I guess our search is over."

Back at the majestic floating building, Tabitha was wandering around preparing various traps for her visitors and Leona was sitting in the castle's garden working on her new deck. As for Luna, the empress was sitting atop one of the towers with the sea's breeze blowing against her and with her blue eyes entranced by the silver moon whose rays were gently touching her. It was there that she found her inner peace and her only wish was for that moment to last forever. The girl then uttered a poem, her melancholic voice sounding so beautifully, almost as if she was singing an ode to the nocturnal celestial sphere:

_Is the moon tired? she looks so pale__  
__Within her misty veil:__  
__She scales the sky from east to west,__  
__And takes no rest._

_Before the coming of the night__  
__The moon shows papery white;__  
__Before the dawning of the day__  
__She fades away._

Tabitha, who had heard the girl due to her powers, was herself moved to the point of a small shiny tear appearing in her right eye. The witch had stopped for a few moments from setting traps and admired the empress with a smile on her face.

"Heh, Christina Rossetti, you got good taste, young girl." Tabitha thought. "Truly you are a rare and priceless treasure."

And so the villainous woman resumed her trap setting. But Luna's moment of contemplation ended when two hands grabbed her feet. The girl panicked and looked down to see a red haired samurai wearing a golden mask climbing the tower. But his eyes were betraying his utter shock because when he lifted his head up to see what awaited him up there, he saw what was under the skirt of the empress.

"What in the world?!" Empress Luna exclaimed shocked.

"Sorry, be there in a second." the samurai quickly responded and then he jumped in the air and landed on the top of the tower face to face with her.

Empress Luna made a step back and her blue bladed scepter appear in her left hand as she asked:

"And just who do you think you are, you trespasser?"

"Not anyone of great importance, just a mere wanderer." the samurai spoke on an ironic tone and shrugged his shoulders.

"Do not give me that, you fool. Do you even know who I am?" Empress Luna replied not even the bit amused of his irony.

"Oh, we're playing guessing games? I'm guessing: an armored gothic chick with a tiara."

What followed next was a blue lightning coming out of the empress's scepter that the samurai quickly dodged.

"I am not going to waste any more time with you." Empress Luna announced and aimed her scepter for his chest.

"Good, because I also don't want to waste my time here when I've got a witch to find." the samurai added.

"A witch? What business do you have with Tabitha-sama?" she asked baffled of what she had heard.

"Nothing that big, I just wish to send her to hell for what she has done." he shortly answered and pulled out his red sword. "And if you dare to stand in my path, I'll be sure to cut my way through you."

"Such big words for a mere swordsman… Do you actually think that you stand a chance against me, the Empress of the Moon?"

"You could be the Empress of the entire Milky Way, that doesn't change the fact that I'll get to Tabitha, no matter what!"

"Oh my, then let's see you try."

Empress Luna put her left foot forward, her right foot back, took a battle position in which she pointed the blade of the scepter in front of the samurai and gesticulated with two fingers a call for him to attack her. The samurai's response was a battle cry and then the sound of metals colliding followed.

During that time, the TARDIS was camouflaged with an invisibility shield and it was approaching the castle from the air. Inside it, the Doctor was piloting it and Subaru was sitting at its doors looking into the night's darkness. Even though they had a mission ahead, his mind was still elsewhere.

"Is there anything the matter, Mustang?" the Doctor asked turning his head to him.

"We've connected both Tsugumi and Edo to machines, the UFO is all locked up with its security system on, I packed my deck up, everything should be alright." a rather worried Subaru spoke more for himself.

"If I were you, I'd worry more about what's ahead of us."

"And who says that I am not?"

Subaru pulled out the golden wristband with the Fire civilization symbol from his pants' pocket and put it on his right wrist.

"I swear I'll return safe and sound to you…" he whispered.

"Is that the gift he got from his..." the Doctor murmured.

All of a sudden, the TARDIS shook as if it had hit something. Before the duo could react, the time machine fell and landed into a small forest from the castle's garden. Upon hearing the crash, Tabitha slyly smiled and turned to the deck-building Leona, proclaiming:

"Our guests have arrived!"

Clash! The red sword and the blue blade of the scepter once again collided. It was apparent that the two were equal, but no matter how much magic Luna had received from her new master, it could still not compare to the samurai's short year of training. And that was easily noticed when he saw the girl's hands begin to tremble as they clenched harder upon her weapon. As the fight went on, her insecurity was beginning to take over.

"What's the matter?" the samurai asked as his sword was pushing the scepter downwards. "Am I intimidating the mighty Empress of the Moon?"

"You fool; you will pay for your insolence!" Empress Luna exclaimed and lifted her scepter, and in doing so she made the samurai's sword fly in the air.

She then tried to stab him with her scepter, but the samurai jumped in the air and grabbed his sword. Then he fell towards her with his sword ready to cut her scepter into half, but she backed off and he did not slash anything.

"Hah, don't tell me you are serious with this whole one on one battle." Empress Luna faked confidence. "I have powers greater than you can imagine. You are nothing but a mere bug to me."

"Then why don't you prove it?" the samurai asked and quickly attacked her once more.

The amount of time she had to react was short, but Luna managed to dodge the sword and also grab it with her right hand. In the same time she tried to decapitate her opponent with her scepter, but he stopped it with his fist before the blade could even touch him. Then, in that very moment, the two managed to look into each other's eyes.

In the shining blue of Empress Luna's eyes, the wandering samurai saw the fear that she was trying to hide, the insecurities of a broken person and most importantly, the sorrow of loneliness which was tormenting her. In the burning red of the samurai's eyes, Empress Luna saw the vengeful wrath that was guiding him, but also the longing for a home that a wandering stranger had and she also sensed a loneliness similar to hers that was tormenting him.

"Why are you doing this?" he suddenly broke the silence and then he backed down along with his weapon, both of them taking defensive positions. "What did she promise you?"

"Things which they could not grant me!" she replied with a both angry and sad voice which then shifted to one filled of curiosity. "What about you? What has she done to you?"

"She has destroyed the people that I cared most for. And now she has to pay."

"In the end we are at different sides of the line. That means that we must end our conflict here and now."

The samurai nodded and prepared for another attack. The two rushed at each other and then something that both of them did not expect happened. Empress Luna's scepter had dodged the samurai's head and his sword stopped at a millimeter from tearing right into her diamond armor and piercing through her chest's flesh.

"You were dodging me on purpose." the samurai deducted. "Almost as if you wanted me to…"

"Hehe, you were quick enough to stop me just as you were quick in your attacks." Luna complimented him.

The samurai made a step back and put his sword back in his sheath much to the girl's surprise. He then turned his head to her, looked her in the eye and said:

"You had no intention on harming me even if I want to harm your master. Tell me, why?"

"I… I don't know." Luna turned her face away from him, choosing to look at the moon's reflection in the sea. "Maybe it's because you've done nothing to me."

"Nothing to you? I attacked you just now and I also threatened to harm your master!" the samurai countered.

"True, but you did not harm me personally! And because of this I find you innocent in this cause. The Empress shall not lay her judgment upon you."

With those words being said, Empress Luna made her scepter disappear and crossed her hands as she kept staring at the sea.

"Go… Whatever your mission is, go and do it quickly. At least you will be able to find your peace, noble warrior." Luna advised him.

"Oh, you're no Empress; you're just another poor victim that fell into Tabitha's web of lies. It's you who should find your peace." the samurai spoke in his mind and then he jumped off the tower's roof, falling towards the castle's garden.

Subaru and the Doctor walked out of the jungle of trees that was supposed to be Tabitha's garden and wandered in an open space towards the closest tower which was at a considerable distance away from them.

"Boy, I cannot believe what sorts of atrocities Tabitha is planting…" Subaru wiped a few leaves and small spines off his short sleeves.

"Does this witch always prefer exotic plants?" the Doctor asked.

"More like deadly plants if you ask me. So Doctor, do you have any brilliant plan on how we can defeat her?"

"A plan?"

"Yes, a plan."

"Ah, a plan! Well, technically I always have a plan. Sure, the Doctor always comes with a plan."

"Alright, so let's hear it. What plan do you have?"

"Well it's a rather complicated plan, but I am fairly confident that it will work!"

"So what is it?"

"Well, the plan is that we find Tabitha and we defeat her."

"And…"

"And that's about it."

"No, I meant how are we supposed to defeat her?"

"Oh, well… you… I… erm… I mean… we'll improvise!" the Doctor finally came up with an idea after scratching his head and sweating nervously. "Yes, we'll improvise and we'll figure something out!"

"Why am I not surprised?" Subaru sighed as he slapped his own face.

Suddenly a pit appeared out of nowhere right under Subaru and the black haired boy fell, but he grabbed onto the edge and held on tight.

"Oh blimey, I should've expected this place to be filled with traps!" the Doctor cried and rushed to help his assistant. "Hang on, Ford, I am coming to rescue you!"

"Can he at least for once remember my name?" a frustrated Subaru thought, despite the fear of falling that had taken over him.

But right when the Doctor approached the darkness duelist, he had accidentally stepped on a bomb that blew up and had him land on his assistant, causing both of them to fall in the pit. As they were falling to what seemed to the best the lower level of the castle, Subaru grabbed onto a piece of metal in order to not have a hard landing but it resulted in his body hitting the brick wall hard, his face suffering the most injuries. As for the Doctor, he landed in a field filled with small pillars that shot electricity. Before he could even react, he was zapped from all places.

"Doctor, are you doing alright over there?" an ironic Subaru asked after the pain from his face ceased a bit and he was able to see what was happening down there.

"Just… fine… especially… when you have two hearts… and are zapped with over nine thousand volts!" the Doctor barely managed to reply on the same time.

"Glad to see I'm not the only one doing great here."

Looking better at the whole area from above, Subaru managed to locate a spot that was safe from the zapping pillars and it was right under him so he simply let go of the metal piece and fell, managing to land on his feet. In the next moment a fire thrower came out of the ground and burned him. Meanwhile, the Doctor managed to jump out of his electrical trap, but unfortunately spikes came out from the floor in the place where he landed and his feet got stung.

"Boy, you two fall for each of my traps way too easily!" a familiar woman's voice spoke.

Having escaped the wrath of the flames and spikes, Subaru and the Doctor were finally on the safe ground of a brick road. When they looked for the source of the voice, they saw Tabitha sitting at the entrance of what seemed to be the base of a tower. But the path that was leading to her was being guarded by a horizontally moving giant mace and giant axe as well as a vertically moving guillotine blade. Sighing, Subaru suddenly lamented:

"Now I remember why I hate Mondays."

"But it's Saturday."

"That doesn't matter. How are we even going to get to her, Doctor?"

"Well, we'll simply get to her." the Doctor replied and took out his sonic screwdriver. "Trust me, I'm the Doctor!"

"Why am I inclined to do the exact opposite?" Subaru sweated.

Having lured them towards the tower, Tabitha began to climb its spiraled stairs and she passed Leona who was sitting by an opened window with a small object in her right hand.

"They're coming and they're all yours." Tabitha said and resumed her climbing.

"Heh, this will be fun." Leona replied and stared down at the entrance in the tower, waiting for the heroic duo to come.

When the blonde witch climbed out of the tower onto its roof, she had the surprise of seeing the wandering samurai sit right in front of her with his sword ready and uttering the following words:

"At long last we meet, Tabitha."

"Wait, I remember you…" the witch pointed at him. "Yes, I recall your figure. You're that warrior from feudal Japan."

"Glad to know you didn't forget me." the samurai replied and in the next moment his sword's tip approached the witch's neck. "And now… I want some answers."

"My, my, getting edgy with that butter knife, aren't we?"

"Don't joke with me, I'm the last person you want to do that with!"

"Why so serious all of a sudden, dear boy? We've just met, can't we discuss like civilized people at a cup of tea?"

Not enduring Tabitha's ironies anymore, the samurai's sword slowly touched her neck and he growled with anger, intending to press it inside her flesh. And yet, despite all this, the blonde witch did not show the slightest hint of fear.

"Tell me… what were you doing back there?" the first question arose.

"Back there? Boy, there are many 'back there' in this witch's life, which one are you talking about?" she responded with another question.

"I'm talking about that battle between the Genji and the Heike! Just why the hell did you interfere and cause the death of my clan?"

Suddenly the blonde woman's mouth took the shape of an 'o', as if she had a revelation. That expression then changed into an amused one which made the young samurai even more determined to chop her head off, but he couldn't until he received an answer.

"I see, you want to know why I told the Heike about the surprise Genji attack." Tabitha broke the silence as she slowly pushed away the sword. "Come, I'll tell you."

The witch approached the samurai who lowered his head a bit to her until his ear reached her mouth.

"For fun." Tabitha whispered and then she giggled.

"Wait, what do you mean 'for fun'?" the surprised samurai asked.

"I was bored back then and I wanted some fun. And what is more fun than causing chaos and destruction, especially with the prize of a whole clan?"

"You mean to tell me… that Koji and my other comrades died… because you were just bored?"

"Yes, that pretty much sums it, samurai boy. What's the matter? Can't an evil dictator witch with world domination plans have her fun?"

There was no way to describe the strong fury that had taken over the samurai right in that moment. He couldn't believe it, all the people that were once dear to him were gone, all because a bored witch traveled through time. He had lost his life with his friends once due to her unfairness once and now the same thing happened yet again. He closed his eyes and envisioned first his former chosen duelist friends, then his samurai comrades and finally Koji, smiling at him with warmth and showing nothing but kindness. In the next moment the samurai yelled with rage and jumped on Tabitha, making both of them fall off the tower.

Meanwhile, Subaru and the Doctor somehow miraculously survived the path laid with traps and finally entered the tower. Not wasting any time, the duo rushed up the spiraled stairs. But once Subaru caught the glimpse of someone sitting by a window above them, he stopped and so did the Doctor. The person descended and revealed itself, shocking the black haired teen who exclaimed:

"I don't believe it! Leona! What are you doing here?"

"Hehe, long time no see, you wannabe Lion." Leona greeted them. "I see you've gotten a new gay lover, no?"

"I beg your pardon?" the Doctor intervened. "Gay lover? We are in no such way! He is just my assistant!"

"Assistant in sexual matters maybe." the girl with golden mane mocked them.

"And what about you, Leona? What purpose do you have here?" Subaru questioned her.

"Oh I've joined up good old Tabbs with the hope of having some fun around here."

"For goodness sake, Leona, the last thing you need is teaming up with that witch! Haven't you had enough 'fun' in causing trouble with Kaizer?"

"Not at all, you feline poseur, the fun has just begun!" Leona exclaimed and ascended as she revealed a grenade that was lying in her right hand.

"Oh no!" both males shouted and rushed after her.

"This party is going to be a huge bomb!"

Leona then used her teeth to pull the small ring out of the grenade. Afterwards she tossed it right at the two and quickly jumped out of the tower through the window. Luckily for her, Empress Luna used her scepter's powers to levitate the Lioness and helped her descend to the ground. Then an explosion occurred inside the tower.

"What happened there?" the blue haired girl asked.

"I greeted our two special guests in my own way." Leona winked.

Much to their surprise, both Subaru and the Doctor jumped out of the raging inferno caused by the grenade's explosion and fell in front of the two girls.

"So that's how Hiroshima felt like…" Subaru affirmed through his hard breaths.

"More or less." the Doctor confirmed while also breathing hard.

"Pft, hahaha, look at them, burned all over, full of sweat and exhausted. They're such a sight, aren't they, Luna?" Leona laughed.

"They're persistent, I'll give them that." the Empress nodded and took out her deck. "But let's see if they're also in shape for dueling!"

"Subaru…"

"Yes, Doctor?"

"I'm starting to hate 'Mondays' as well."

Four tables rose from the floor and the duels began, Subaru facing Empress Luna and the Doctor facing Leona.

"I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy her!" Subaru said and a white haired doll with red eyes and a dark red dress appeared briefly in the battle zone and stabbed herself with a razor, disappearing and making his opponent discard Genius Janit, of the Hidden Blade.

"I charge mana and end." Empress Luna said.

"I cast Energy Stream and draw two cards. Gravity Zero, I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight!"

A ghostly knight wielding a spear and a shield and riding a ghostly unicorn appeared by Subaru's side. Empress Luna raised her eyebrow and said:

"You've switched to hyperspatial control just like Tsugumi, eh? Good, I'll break you the same way I did with her – I summon Time Tripper, Shadow of Stagnation!"

A white fat ghost with no eyes, four arms and a mouth for stomach appeared behind her. Now with its effect, Subaru would have to put cards in his mana zone tapped. He looked at the cards in his hand which were Hyperspatial Emperor Hole, Hide and Seek, Maxval, Electro-Fuuma and Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger. Sighing, he placed Emperor Hole in his mana zone and said:

"I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma and end."

"Ah, hyperspatial control, the one deck that is so spell based that it makes me sick." Empress Luna confessed. "How about I summon Fuuma Gorgonshack to make all spells cost 2 more to cost? I am sure we would all like that."

In the next moment a blue creature with snakes for hair appeared by Time Tripper's side.

"Damn it!" Subaru silently cursed as he placed Hide and Seek tapped in his mana zone. "And I got Thunder Blade and Liger Blade in my hand, two creatures that cost 7 and Maxval reduces their cost by 1. Even so, Time Tripper makes me put cards in my mana zone tapped, so I'll only be able to get these two guys out at turn 7."

"Prepare to meet one of the two cards that will mark your end!" Empress Luna declared. "I summon Luna Revolver Wheel!"

"I charge mana and end." Subaru sighed placing Hyperspatial Revive Hole tapped in his mana zone. "I hope the Doctor is doing better than I am."

"I cast Geo Bronze Magic!" the Doctor said and DNA Spark landed in his mana zone. "And since a Light card went to my mana zone, Geo Bronze Magic lets me draw a card."

"How sweet. Anyway, I summon Aqua Super Emeral." Leona said and replaced one of her shields with a card from her hand.

"Oh, you're cooking up something, aren't you?"

"Maybe I am, so what, bowtie man?"

"Well let's see what you're cooking – I cast The Door of Miracle and Mystery!"

The Doctor revealed the top four cards of his deck which were GILL, Supergalactic Dragon, Faerie Life, Hogan Blaster and Onimaru "Head", Victory Rush. Much to his surprise, Leona chose Onimaru "Head" and The Doctor put it in the battle zone, making the red haired humanoid dressed in a red and blue armor, wielding a shining white sword and riding a purple armored dragon appear.

"You must be feeling really lucky today." The Doctor commented.

"Try me." Leona replied confidently.

"Onimaru "Head", attack and we play Hardcore Judge!"

The top card of the Doctor's deck was Positron Sign while the top card of Leona's deck was Lionel, Zenith of the "Ore". It was 5 VS 10, so the Doctor lost Hardcore Judge and did not gain an extra turn. Still, Onimaru "Head" slashed three of her shields.

"Shield trigger activate!" Leona exclaimed and showed two of the three cards that went into her hand. "I cast Heaven's Gate and put Lord Reis, Spirit of Wisdom and Truename White of Lionel in the battle zone! Also, shield trigger, I cast True Heaven's and send Onimaru "Head" to your shields!"

"My creature!" the Doctor exclaimed upon seeing Onimaru "Head" surrounded by a bright golden aura and disappear, granting him a sixth shield.

"Lord Reis lets me draw two cards and White of Lionel grants me a new shield and a card in my mana zone. How do you like that, you noob?"

"What can I say? Pretty impressing for a murdering kitty."

"Oh, you don't know just how right you are, pal. Anyway, my turn, I summon Kibbate Cat, Spirit of Heaven Gate."

Leona looked at the top four cards of her deck and she selected Heaven's Double Tail which she then put in her hand and the rest of the cards went to the bottom. Then she tapped one of her cards and ordered:

"Truename White of Lionel, double break his shields!"

The golden armored lion angel with white mane and rainbow tails swung its golden spear and with its attack not only did it break two of the Doctor's shields but it also made the ground underneath him crack and caused him and his dueling table to fall back at the lower level.

"Our job here is done. Let's go, Luna!" Leona said while packing up her cards.

"Tsh…" Empress Luna murmured as she looked at the two cards in her hand – Original Heart, the New Moon Pulses and Mani, Emperor of the Gods. "Next time you won't be so lucky, Subaru!"

The Empress then packed her cards as well and both her and Leona ran into the next tower and disappeared inside of it. Subaru rushed from his dueling table to the hole in which the Doctor fell and shouted:

"Doctor, are you alright?!"

"Don't worry, I am alright!" the Doctor shouted back. "It seems that I'm stuck here in the sewers. You keep searching the surface while I explore these underground places."

"Are you sure?" a worried Subaru asked.

"Yes, don't worry; we'll meet up at some point. Now go!"

No matter how much he disliked the idea of leaving the Doctor alone, Subaru agreed with the plan and returned to his dueling table to pack up his cards. Afterwards he headed to the tower where his two foes had escaped. Once he set foot inside, he noticed that this tower was much bigger than the previous and that it was shaped as a large dueling arena. The windows were big and gargoyles were sitting on the brick walls, by their lefts and rights, holding burning torches. In the middle of the arena there was a painting with the five symbols of the five civilizations in circles forming a star. Much to Subaru's surprise, the one waiting for him was none other than the wandering samurai.

"So, we meet yet again, Subaru." the samurai said and put his sword back in his sheath, taking out his deck afterwards. "I've been waiting for a rematch ever since your Dorballom turned the tides in your favor."

"Excuse me, but don't you have a witch to destroy?" Subaru asked.

"Yes I do, but sadly she disappeared in this tower a few minutes ago."

"Same for her two minions that I faced a while ago. I wonder what's going on here."

"Beats me. Point is we got a score to settle!"

"Don't you mean that we got a witch to stop?"

"I'll take care of her later! But first… I gotta practice on you."

Seeing no other solution, Subaru took out his deck as well and both he and the wandering samurai walked at the dueling tables, ready for the match.

* * *

_Leona(yawns): And yes, that's how my trolling campaign against those losers began. (stretches her limbs) It was fun talking to you guys, but now the cat needs her nap! (falls asleep on the couch)_

* * *

_[In the next chapter]:_

_The duel between Subaru and the samurai is interrupted by the mysterious Raven who challenges the former chosen darkness duelist to a match as well. While the samurai is being distracted, their epic showdown takes place. But Subaru senses that something is not right, almost as if his new opponent is actually someone he had met before. Just who is Raven and what does he want? _


	12. Night of the Devil

_Subaru(his eyes turned black with red pupils and tears of blood swelling down his cheeks): __And my diseased soul screams: Will you be my walker of shadows? Delight me with sinister sin. Our funeral of euphoria will break Satan's black heart…(lowers his head)_

* * *

The moon shone upon Tabitha's castle that floated above the sea, its silver rays lighting through the opened window the scene of the confrontation that was about to take place. In that obscure setting even the gargoyles that were hung on the walls seemed alive. The waves were singing of tragedies that were about to unfold and the sea's breeze was chilling the room making it cold as a tomb.

Drops of sweat went down Subaru's back, making his mood an uneasy one as he watched the mighty figure of the wandering samurai approach his dueling table. The golden masked warrior pulled out his deck the same way he would take out his sword. A flame shaped crimson aura surrounded the pack of cards that were burning with the desire for vengeance against the demons of Subaru's deck.

But then something unexpected occurred. A strange figure jumped out of the shadows right in the middle of the dueling arena. When they caught a better glimpse of the intruder due to the moonlight, it revealed that the stranger was the robed duelist that Subaru recognized as Raven.

"Hope you don't mind me barging in to this party." he broke the silence that was between them.

"Raven, what are you doing here?" the black haired duelist asked.

"Oh, Subaru Geki, what a coincidence it is to bump into you here. I do hope you've got some spare time for a match."

"Hey, I was the one who challenged him first, so bud out of this!" the samurai intervened.

Raven turned to the red haired warrior and approached his dueling table. Then when they were face to face, he grinned under his cloak and spoke to him silently so that Subaru would not hear them:

"Good to see you again, I didn't know that you survived Gallows Hellish Dragon's attack."

The samurai remained petrified upon hearing those words. How was it possible? How did that stranger know? And most importantly, now that he knew, would he reveal his identity to the others? The warrior grabbed his deck and hid it back in his vest's pocket and then he pulled out his red sword with his trembling right hand and pointed it at the robed duelist asking:

"Who are you?"

"Heh, impulsive as always. You haven't changed a bit." Raven laughed.

"I said: Who are you?!" the samurai shouted and jumped above the table ready to hit him with a sword.

Raven simply backed down from the attack and when the samurai landed on the floor he rushed behind him and whispered:

"Still stubborn like a bull, know that you can't defeat Tabitha with this attitude."

"Just what the hell do you know?!" the frustrated samurai turned to face him.

Right in that moment Raven punched him in the stomach so hard that he knocked him out cold. Then he pulled him to a corner of the arena and returned to the dueling table to face a surprised Subaru that had witnessed all of that.

"And now that he is out of the way, let's begin, shall we?" Raven suggested.

"What do you want?" an unsure Subaru asked.

"As I have told you before, I wish to duel you."

"Why?"

"I've got my reasons. Now are we going to begin this match or not?"

The former chosen darkness duelist did not like the situation at all. In a matter of minutes his opponent had been replaced and to make matters worse, there was something strange about Raven that made him feel very uncomfortable. Gulping, Subaru pulled out his deck, set his cards and looked at the robed duelist who did the same.

"And now, Subaru Geki, you shall prove to me if you really are a man!" Raven declared and then five rectangular blue shields materialized above him. "Duel start!"

"Duel start!" Subaru said in reply as a pair of five shields appeared above him as well.

Thus the confrontation between the two began. Subaru's starting hand was a good one, for he got Dulanzames, Jet-Black War Demon, Maxval, Electro-Fuuma, Jenny, the Suicide Doll, Hide and Seek and Cebu Aquman Jr. Due to most of those cards having little cost, he could progress easily his first turns. He began by placing Hide and Seek tapped in his mana zone in order to gain both Water and Darkness mana, and then he ended. Raven then drew a card and put Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist tapped in his mana zone. From this Subaru deduced that his opponent was using the same combination as him: blue and black or Water and Darkness. Now his turn came and he drew… Jenny, the Dismantling Doll. It was perfect, the more low cost cards he was getting, the better. With two discarders in his hand, he decided that the time to control his opponent's hand had come. Subaru charged mana with Dulanzames and then he showed the smaller Jenny saying:

"I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy her. Now I'll discard a card from your hand!"

A white haired red eyed doll dressed in a dark red dress and wielding a large razor appeared in the battle zone and smiled malevolently as she pointed her weapon at the middle card from Raven's hand. A small cloud of darkness came out of it and hit the card causing it to fall in his graveyard. Then she turned the razor and rammed it through her body, causing herself to blow up. The discarded card was ironically another Jenny, the Suicide Doll.

"I end." Subaru announced.

Raven drew a card which he placed in his mana zone, that being Phal Pierro, Apocalyptic Guardian, which indicated that he was using Light as well. Then he tapped two cards and put a multicolored creature card in the battle zone that caused a horned mud man with a giant bell for a body and holding a bell in its left hand appear behind him.

"I summon Berlin, Bell Gravekeeper. Now whenever you discard a card from my hand, I'll get back two cards from my graveyard. Good luck discarding me now, hehehe!" Raven laughed with satisfaction.

Subaru drew his next card which was Ghost Touch. Inside him he cursed Berlin not only for protecting Raven's hand but also for rendering useless the two discarders from his hand. Seeing how easily Raven managed to ruin his discarding strategy instilled a fragment of fear and panic inside Subaru, which he tried to ignore and hide. The duelist with black mane placed Ghost Touch in his mana zone and tapped all three cards to place a multicolored one in his battle zone.

"I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma." Subaru said and the blue hybrid between Liquid People and Grand Devil rose from the sea's waters and went into the tower sitting by his side of the battle zone.

"Good idea, I'll also summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma." Raven replied and another Maxval came by his side as well.

The next card that Subaru drew was Batou Shoulder, Shadow of Fiction. Thinking that he might need it later, he kept it in his hand, placed Jenny, the Dismantling Doll in his mana zone and put a Water card in the battle zone saying:

"I summon Cebu Aquman Jr!"

A little white baby Alien with an X on its only eye and a big mouth with sharp teeth appeared next to Subaru's Maxval and caused the top three cards of his deck reveal themselves. The cards were Hyperspatial Revive Hole, Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight and Ghost Touch, all being Darkness and all going to his hand. Raven's turn came again and this time he surprised Subaru when he put his fourth mana card which was a Self-Destructing Gil Poser next to Atsuto, Phal Pierro and Triple Revival Resurrection, revealing that he had a fourth civilization in his deck, that of Fire. Then he tapped all four cards, raised a card in the air and placed it upon another saying:

"I evolve Maxval into Unified Shachihoko Kaiser!"

The creature got surrounded by a white aura and grew into a three headed eyeless grey armored dragon that had red wings. The dragon screeched loudly and shook the arena.

"I notice that you like removals. Now you're all free to destroy my creatures because Unified Shachihoko Kaiser's effect will grant me Alien psychic creatures in return!" Raven explained to a more obviously shocked Subaru. "Let's tick your buttons a little. Shachihoko Kaiser, double break his shields!"

Two of the three dragon heads spat lasers upon Subaru who took cover and got two of his shields broken. The attack was so strong that the shield shards caused small cuts through his black T shirt and on his arms. Now he knew that Raven meant serious business.

"I end my turn." his opponent announced.

The two cards that Subaru received from his shields were two Maxval, Electro-Fuuma. Both were good blockers and cost reducers, but he decided to keep them for later. The next card that he drew was Energy Stream which he decided he would keep for when he would need to replenish his hand. But there was a problem. He had the cards necessary to remove Raven's creatures, but that cursed Unified Shachihoko Kaiser would gift him with psychic creatures in return. Basically it did not matter how much he attempted to gain control of the situation, his adversary would still have the upper hand. And that caused Subaru to panic even more, the fear of losing the duel was growing bigger with each move that Raven was making. The obsession of clinging for his life and winning the duel was pushing him to paranoia. It was as if an inner force was beginning to take over. All of a sudden, Subaru's eyes burst with a shining red light. Upon seeing this, Raven spoke with a smile:

"So you've been awakened once again."

But Subaru did not respond to that. He charged mana with Ghost Touch, tapped all five cards and showed a Darkness spell while saying with a cold voice:

"I cast Hyperspatial Revive Hole which returns Jenny, the Suicide Doll to my hand and puts Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier in the battle zone. Black Ganveet, destroy Unified Shachihoko Kaiser!"

"Heh, nice try, I put Intense World! Shachihoko Kaiser in the battle zone!" Raven countered.

A hole appeared in the ceiling and out of it a golden armored horned demon riding a horned skeletal horse descended and used its scythe shaped blue swords to slash Shachihoko Kaiser which blew into pieces. But from the cloud of the explosion another one emerged, this being the psychic creature version of the fallen dragon.

"Gravity Zero, I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight!" Subaru continued and a ghostly knight wielding a shield and a spear and riding a ghostly unicorn appeared next to Maxval and Cebu Aquman Jr.

"My turn, with Intense World! Shachihoko Kaiser's effect I put Jenny, the Suicide Doll in the battle zone. I destroy Jenny and discard a card from your hand." Raven made Subaru discard Batou Shoulder, Shadow of Fiction. "And now I charge mana with Jenny, the Suicide Doll and cast Hyperspatial Shachihoko Hole which puts Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows in the battle zone!"

A red armored robotic Alien with three heads, fire arms and water throwers appeared behind him and roared.

"And now go, Shachihoko Kaiser, break his shield!" Raven ordered and this time the middle dragon head of the creature spat a laser which broke only one shield.

When the attack finished and the smoke cleared, Raven noticed that Subaru was trembling while holding his head in both palms. He had left his cards on the table. All of a sudden, the black haired teen got surrounded by a dark purple aura and he gave a scream of pain which revealed his white teeth that in a matter of seconds morphed into sharp fangs. His shining red eyes turned pitch black, but his pupils were still red as the fires of hell. Whatever was going on, one thing was sure, that was not the Subaru he knew anymore.

"Could it be possible? Did the transformation complete this time?" Raven asked himself.

The demonic teen turned to his opponent and gave him a terrifying laughter that sounded as if a dog with a sore throat was coughing, the boy revealing his tongue and sharp teeth in the process.

"You just made the worst mistake of your life." he threatened. "Awaken, Darkness Ganveet!"

Black Ganveet got surrounded by a purple aura and grew in size, turning into a giant skeletal demon wielding two purple swords.

"I am thirsty for creature blood tonight." the demoniac Subaru announced and then his right hand erupted with a black aura as he drew his next card. "Perfect, I summon Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger!"

A dark blue bipedal lion demon wielding two sharp blue swords and having a blue mane decorate its head along with two orange horns that were positioned as a V sign appeared in the battle zone and slashed all other creatures with its swords, sparing only Darkness Ganveet and Cebu Aquman Jr. At the sight of this massacre, Subaru laughed with sick satisfaction, the destruction of his very own Bloody Shadow and Maxval seeming to please him even more. Obviously Raven was left without a creature, but what was worrying him more was the fact that Subaru did not even call his avatar by his name, Raion.

"Just who or what the hell are you?" Raven asked.

"Do you want to play with me?" was the answer that came.

"Hell no, I don't want to put up with your crap, I just want to see how strong you are!"

"You're already seeing it… Shubham."

In that moment Raven remained stunned. The words that had been uttered had struck him like a lightning and caused him for the first time to lose his control during the match.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue, Shubby? Did you think that I could not see behind that stupid cloak of yours? Please, don't you know who I am?"

"Shut up, you're nothing but a possessed creep!" Raven yelled out.

"No, I am your God, weak mortal!" Subaru responded with an otherworldly voice.

In the next moment Cebu Aquman Jr hit one of Raven's shields with its arms and broke it to pieces. The cloaked duelist took cover as the shards hit him. But just as he got the card of Self-Destructing Gil Poser in his hand, it already fell in his graveyard, for Darkness Ganveet was attacking next and it was causing him to discard a card from his hand. The skeletal demon slashed two more shields of his whose shards hit him as well.

The attacks were so strong that they made Raven fall on his back. The shield shards united into two cards that fell onto him and when he forced himself to get up, he saw Subaru sitting there cold and unforgiving like a demon that was waiting for its prey to drag it into the darkest depths of hell.

"I've awakened a monster…" Raven whispered and got back to the dueling table.

"Your turn." Subaru passed.

The cloaked duelist had received Unified Shachihoko Kaiser and Aquan Jr.'s Delivery in his hand. The next card he drew was Triple Revival Resurrection. Thankful to his deck for the help, he placed Aquan Jr.'s Delivery in his mana zone and showed the Darkness spell while saying:

"Alright, I can do this, I cast Triple Revival Resurrection and put Self-Destructing Gil Poser, Maxval, Electro-Fuuma and Berlin, Bell Gravekeeper in the battle zone! I destroy Gil Poser and your Cebu Aquman Jr."

A little eyeless humanoid covered in red hair, with bat wings and a mouth with sharp teeth appeared in the battle zone with a hammer which it used to crush Subaru's white baby Alien and then to crush itself. The two blockers from before also reappeared behind Raven, ready to defend their master.

But Subaru seemed the least intimidated. He licked his lips and his sharp fangs, happy that he would be able to cause more destruction.

"My turn, I summon two Maxval, Electro-Fuuma. Now go, Darkness Ganveet, break his final shields!"

Heeding its master's order, the skeletal demon flew towards Raven, causing him to discard Unified Shachihoko Kaiser and destroy his Maxval.

"Wait a minute, Berlin's effect!" Raven exclaimed and took two cards back from his graveyard. "I return Unified Shachihoko Kaiser and Hyperspatial Shachihoko Hole to my hand!"

However that did not stop Darkness Ganveet from slashing his last two shields. But this time a bright light came from them much to Subaru's surprise. Raven showed two Light cards to him and said:

"Shield trigger, I cast Formation in the Springs and revive Maxval, Electro-Fuuma. Also, shield trigger, I cast another Formation in the Springs and evolve Maxval into the other Unified Shachihoko Kaiser that was in my graveyard!"

Once again the three headed grey armored dragon appeared in the battle zone and screeched.

"Who cares? You are finished anyway! Liger Blade, todomeda!" Subaru ordered.

The demonic lion swung its swords and aimed for Raven, but the mud man with bell body stood in its way and got slashed.

"And I block with Berlin. Also, Unified Shachihoko Kaiser's effect puts Intense World! Shachihoko Kaiser in the battle zone!" Raven countered and a second Shachihoko Kaiser appeared in the battle zone. "And now it's my turn, with Intense World! Shachihoko Kaiser's effect I revive Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy her!"

The card that Subaru discarded was Energy Stream.

"Then I put Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows in the battle zone! Now I charge mana with Jenny and summon Phal Pierro, Apocalyptic Guardian and destroy him to return Formation in the Springs to my hand. Also I put Intense Sumo! Thrust Wrestler in the battle zone. Then I cast Formation in the Springs and revive Phal Pierro. I destroy Phal Pierro, take Triple Revival Resurrection to my hand and put Victorious Pudding Pudding in the battle zone! With Pudding Pudding's effect your Darkness Ganveet can no longer attack!"

The red armored three headed Alien reappeared, this time followed by a fat sumo Alien made of lava and a purple haired princess dressed in a dark green dress that used her umbrella to hit Darkness Ganveet and immobilize him.

"Perfect, next turn I'll link Gallows Hellish Dragon and it's curtains for him!" Raven thought and then he spoke. "Unified Shachihoko Kaiser, destroy Liger Blade!"

All of the three dragon heads charged their mouths and spat their lasers upon the blue demonic lion which stood there and got fried by them, exploding in a matter of seconds. But Subaru felt nothing about the loss of his comrade. He just sat there, smiling and enjoying the massacre.

"You're such a despicable being." Raven commented.

"Madness… it's so easy to let it take over, isn't that right? The most tempting sin is that of giving up the few bits of control that you have." the devilish Subaru reflected.

"You know nothing of madness, you creep, you've never went through the hell that I experienced!"

"You're wrong yet again, this is hell. Everyone is living their own hell and right now both of us are stuck in one."

"Indeed, however I have planned to rise above rather than sink even lower like you're doing."

What followed next was the most otherworldly laugh that Subaru made, laughter that was so low and growled that it reminded him more of a creature's roar if anything.

"You know very well that you can't run away." Subaru finally ceased laughing and showed a card that got surrounded by a purple aura. "And now it's time to end this game."

"That card…" Raven murmured.

The wind blew stronger in the room, making Subaru's hair messier as well as lifting up Raven's cloak for a split second, revealing a face with red eyes, a headband with teeth and black spiky hair.

"The fallen angels are calling. Can you hear them cry in the night?" Subaru asked and all of a sudden tears of blood began falling from his black eyes down his cheeks, shocking Raven even more. "This is our time, the Night of the Devil!"

Subaru raised the card in the air and placed it on the table right unto his only psychic creature.

"Oh ye heroic general of demons, Darkness Ganveet, accept the power that I bestow upon thee and become the Lord of all Darkness!" Subaru shouted what seemed to be an incantation. "Take the form of the almighty and all powerful Dorballom so that the wrath of Darkness may fall upon those that oppose us!"

Darkness Ganveet gave a battle cry as purple rays came out of his body, piercing through his bone armor and his skull. Slowly the armor began to fall apart until there was nothing left of the bone demon but a powerful purple light. Out of it golden tentacles ending with goat heads emerged. A pair of red wings flopped in the air and let their feathers spread around in the room. A white goat head that had two shining blue eyes and a blue crystal on its forehead arose and then the body of the mighty Dorballom followed. The demon floated in the center of the room in all its might, Subaru laughing even harder than before but with the bloody tears now falling off his face and staining his black T shirt. The scared Raven backed down as a single wave of darkness from Dorballom destroyed his Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows and Victorious Pudding Pudding and also sent the Phal Pierro, Gil Poser and Aquan Jr.'s Delivery from his mana zone into his graveyard.

"Darkness shall consume all!" Subaru declared. "Now the time has come to end your struggle, you worthless soul. Dorballom, Lord of Demons, todomeda!"

The white goat demon waved its six hands and conjured up a sphere of darkness that it cast upon Raven and then an explosion occurred. When the smoke cleared away, they saw a cracked plane fall on the floor and dissolve into thin air while Raven stood there without a scratch.

"Heh, count on good old Falconer to save the day." he said to the surprised Subaru. "Also, thanks to Unified Shachihoko Kaiser, I bring back Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows!"

Once again the red armored three headed Alien reappeared in the battle zone alongside its comrades.

"Psychic Link – arise from the depths, Gallows Hellish Dragon, Brink of Despair!" Raven ordered and the three psychic creatures got surrounded by white auras as they merged together and then they formed a giant black dragon with three eyeless heads that had big mouths with sharp teeth and also its body was decorated with sharp white spikes.

"So you still got something left inside of you. This should be interesting." Subaru said while admiring the Alien dragon.

"You wanted hell, you demonic freak? I'll give you hell!" Raven replied while showing a spell card. "I cast Hyperspatial Shachihoko Hole and put Victorious Pudding Pudding in the battle zone. Pudding's effect will stop Dorballom from attacking on your next turn!"

The purple haired Alien princess descended once again and this time she hit the almighty goat demon with her umbrella, thus rendering him unable for a new attack.

"Now go, Gallows Hellish Dragon, attack Dorballom and mill his deck!" Raven ordered and the dragon screeched louder than any other creature and spat a laser beam from its main head that went straight towards Dorballom and made the cards from Subaru's deck fall into his graveyard one by one until only two were left.

"Block the attack, Maxval!" Subaru countered and the creature jumped in front of the laser to protect Dorballom, thus taking the full hit and exploding.

But after that something unexpected happened. All of a sudden Subaru's eyes widened and he looked at his hands that were stained with the same bloody tears that were on his T shirt. In that moment in his mind everything that happened in their duel up to that point returned as a sudden flashback. He began to silently sob and he spoke to himself with his normal voice:

"What have I become?"

"He must've come back to normal." Raven deduced and then he spoke to his opponent. "I end my turn here."

Subaru raised his head to his opponent, his eyes and fangs remaining the same, but this time the tears of blood were falling down a saddened face. Raven realized by just looking at his expression that he was ashamed of what the monster he had become.

"See? You're no hero, hell, you're not even a real man, you demonic pussy! You're just like the rest of us and nothing makes you special." Raven coldly spoke.

"I… I summon Olzekia, General of Decapitation and destroy Maxval." Subaru responded by continuing the game.

A black demon with four hands that each wielded a sword and also with a skull supplementing for its lower body parts appeared in the battle zone and slashed one of Subaru's Maxvals as sacrifice, then it turned to Raven who announced its victims:

"I destroy Victorious Pudding Pudding and Unified Shachihoko Kaiser."

Olzekia swung its swords and slashed both the Alien princess and the grey armored dragon, but then Raven continued:

"And with Unified Shachihoko Kaiser's effect I put Victorious Pudding Pudding once again in the battle zone and stop Olzekia from being able to attack!"

The Alien princess stubbornly returned and used her umbrella to hit the black demonic general and immobilize him as well. Then Raven's turn came and he simply charged mana and ended.

"Heh, now you will draw your last card and deck out, losing the game. Do you have any last words?" Raven victoriously asked.

"Back then when I summoned Raion, I could see not only through your cloak, but also through your soul. You're in pain, aren't you?" Subaru surprised his opponent.

"What could you possibly know about what I am feeling?!"

"All that I know is that you wanted to have this duel with your whole heart."

Subaru stretched his arms in the air, taking the position of the cross. Then he looked with his bleeding black eyes with red pupils at Raven, smiled with sadness and spoke in a humble voice:

"If defeating me will take your pain away, then I accept to be sacrificed. May this madness come to an end…"

This action angered Raven profoundly. The robed duelist rushed to Subaru's table and lifted his last card for him, causing an explosion to harm the former chosen duelist who landed defeated on the brick floor. Dorballom and Olzekia slowly dissolved into thin air and Gallows Hellish Dragon soon followed.

"You'll never know a thing about me, Subaru Geki." Raven concluded.

When the wandering samurai woke up, he saw that Subaru was lying unconscious on the floor and his cards were all on the dueling table. He got up; rushed to the table to pack up his cards and then he went to the black haired teen.

"Subaru, are you alright?" the samurai shook him. "Wake up, Subaru! We've got a match to play and a witch to stop!"

But then he had the horror of seeing blood on the darkness duelist's hands, on his T shirt and on his cheeks. The warrior gasped shocked and made a step back asking himself:

"Just what the hell happened here?"

Meanwhile outside the tower, making their way through Tabitha's forest of deadly plants were Raven and his companion, Black Widow.

"So how are things going on at the tournament?" the robed male asked.

"Pretty well, to be honest. Our men have managed to reach the next round along with the two former chosen duelists." the robed girl responded. "But there is something else that might be of interest."

"And what might that be?"

"A guy called Roger has his team of duelists signed up at the tournament as well. One of them attacked us as I was discussing with Blaze and Trey. It seems that they are after all the Zero cards. What do you suggest that we do?"

"That can wait, right now we have to take care of Tabitha and there is no turning back."

"Alright. So now that you have defeated Subaru, what shall we do next?"

"As expected, this is not going to be easy. I say the time to confront Tabitha has now come."

"Agreed. It seems that from here on the war is beginning." Black Widow implied.

"Indeed, but we will need the help of those two pesky guys as well." Raven alluded to Subaru and the wandering samurai.

And so the duo of robed duelists disappeared in the forest, searching for the unsuspecting witch.

* * *

_Raven(sitting atop one of the castle's towers staring at the moonlit waters while the sea's breeze blows against his robes): My chosen torture makes me stronger in a life that craves the hunger. A freedom and a quest for life until the end, the judgment night…(raises his head looking at the moon)_

* * *

_[In the next chapter]:_

_With Subaru down, the wandering samurai travels through the castle while carrying him on his back. The Doctor is trying to escape the various traps that lay down in the sewers. But by the time the two heroes meet each other, the villains make their appearance as well. With her Zeta-File deck finally completed, Tabitha is ready for action, and both Leona and Empress Luna will back her up. Can the heroic duo possibly stop the evil witch and her cohorts? Or will they pitifully fall to the might of her new Zenith? _


	13. Struggle

_Tabitha (sitting on her throne and savoring her usual glass of wine): Ah, nothing is sweeter than this rare wine made in the blooming fields of ancient Rome! Wait a minute, I lie, there is a thing sweeter than wine, and that was my encounter with the Doctor when the two of us were all alone. Trust me, it was one hell of an experience! (winks) Ah, Doctor, Doctor, you never cease to surprise this old witch._

* * *

Leona sighed and placed her head and back against the brick tower that she was guarding. The mission that Tabitha gave her was so boring to her that she was slowly becoming desperate for any sort of entertainment. Empress Luna was not making the situation better for her either. The blue haired self-proclaimed royalty stood a few feet away from the Lioness and she was once again admiring the moon while murmuring undecipherable words from her mouth. In her mind she was envisioning an empire of peace in which people that were like her coexisted peacefully. Indeed this was a sweet utopia for her to dream. But if one would look into the dictionary for the word 'lunatic', one would see a picture with Empress Luna – that was Leona's thought.

"Ah, why can't something interesting happen for once?" the blonde complained and stretched her limbs.

"Thine wish is being granted." Empress Luna replied while turning her attention to the forest in front of them. "Somebody is coming."

"New victims, perhaps? If that's the case, then me likey."

In the next moment a card seared through the air aiming for the Empress' face. Luckily she had quick instincts and caught it. Then she took a look at it and saw that it was Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows.

"What is the meaning of this?" the surprised Luna asked.

"Thought you might want this guy back." a voice came from the forest.

The robed figures of Raven and Black Widow walked out of the conglomeration of trees and the duo ended up face to face with the two loyal minions of the witch they were pursuing.

"His purpose has been served, as he helped me defeat the wielder of Hunters." Raven continued.

"What is the meaning of this?" Empress Luna asked.

"Nothing personal, I'm just giving your card back. Besides, I think that Hot Spring Gallows, or Pinky as you call him, suits you better than those ugly Lunatic Gods."

"Who art thou and what are thine wishes?"

"Going all old English on us, I see?" Black Widow noticed. "Well, moon girl, we're here to talk to your master Tabitha, so if you girls are nice enough to take us to her…"

"I'm so sorry, but Tabitha-sama is busy with her other guests." Leona intervened and pulled out her deck. "I'm afraid you'll have to chit chat with us instead."

"I actually like that idea." Raven replied taking his deck out as well. "Let's dance!"

Meanwhile in the cold and dark sewers of the castle, one single man was making his way through the slime, trying his best to reach the hideout of the witch, for he knew that she was the only one that owned the answers to the questions that were bothering him.

"If only I had a penny for every time I ended up in these kinds of situations, I'd probably, or even certainly, be the richest Time Lord in existence." he uttered while advancing through the narrow passages which were lighted only by his small screwdriver. "Tabitha, Tabitha, just what in the world are you planning for us, you crazy old witch?"

All of a sudden, he by accident grabbed and pulled a lever that caused a strange noise to slowly approach him from behind. When he turned around to see what it was, a large stream of water quickly hit him and pushed him further in the sewers that were getting flooded.

Upstairs, the two matches had begun with Raven facing off against Empress Luna while Black Widow had to take down Leona.

"I summon Dark Zabi Glide." Raven put a card in the battle zone causing a white eyeless Alien with a huge mouth that had sharp teeth and a long tongue and whose body had the shape of a glide appear behind him floating in the air.

"Ah, so you're able to summon creatures into the real world. This must mean that you own a Victory card." Luna deduced.

"Heh, you'll see…"

"Indeed I shall. Until then, I summon Melgainer, Electro-Spectre."

A creature composed of two warriors – a purple muddy one and a blue watery one – each wielding their own sword, appeared behind the Empress.

"I summon Zabi Barrel, Western Doll." Raven said and made a dark brown eyeless doll wielding guns appear next to Zabi Glide and cause Luna to choose and discard a card which was Aqua Surfer.

"I summon Moora, Emperor of the Gods." Empress Luna announced and made the purple Lunatic God appear by her side. "Go, Melgainer, break a shield and allow me to draw a card!"

The duo of creatures flew towards Raven and when they approached his shields they swung their weapons and used them to slash off one of them. However the shield shards united into a shining blue card that went into its owner's hand and he showed it back at his opponent while declaring:

"Shield trigger activate! I cast Fortune Slot!"

"Fortune Slot… that is that underrated shield trigger that made you look at the top four cards of your deck and select one creature, one spell, one cross gear and one fortress and add them to your hand." Luna commented.

"Indeed, now let's see my luck today!" Raven said while revealing the top four cards of his deck which were The Strong Spiral, Rose Castle, Genius Janit, of the Hidden Blade and Zabi Mira, the Reviving Shaman. "Heh, I take the spell The Strong Spiral, the fortress Rose Castle and the creature Zabi Mira to my hand."

"That was lucky indeed…"

"And now it's my turn, your majesty. I fortify one of my shields with Rose Castle which gives -1000 to all of your creatures and kills that Melgainer of yours!"

The image of a castle made of rose petals appeared on Raven's middle shield and caused the dual colored creature to explode.

"I summon Mani, Emperor of the Gods and link him with Moora to draw a card." Empress Luna said and then a blue Lunatic God appeared and united with the first one. "I end my turn."

"And this, I assure you, is the only time in this duel you will ever link your Gods!" Raven said with a vile voice that surprised her. "I cast The Strong Spiral and Spiral Gate which send both your linked Gods back to your hand!"

Two water spirals appeared, one from above and the other from beneath, and both engulfed the linked Moora and Mani, making them disappear, their cards bouncing off of the dueling table back into Luna's hand.

"Heh, don't make warnings that you cannot fulfill." Empress Luna replied and placed a fortress card upon one of her shields as well. "I fortify one of my shields with Original Heart, the New Moon Pulses!"

On her far left shield the image of a red castle that was shaped like a heart appeared.

Meanwhile at Black Widow VS Leona, the robed duelist had one of the worst starting hands her deck could have ever granted her – two Hyperspatial White Blue Hole, Psycho Horror, Feeling of Falsehood, Zenith Symphony, Secret Zenith and Suspense, Zenith of "Curse". She began by charging mana first with one of the hyperspatial spells that would grant her both Light and Water mana, then by putting each of the Zero cards. Sadly for her, the cards she drew up until turn three were Emeral and Christie Gate. Not having any Light Demon Command to swap for the spell, she decided to simply try her luck.

"I cast Christie Gate!" Black Widow broke the silence and looked into one of her shields. "Perfect, I put Codefight Alibi Trick from my shields into the battle zone. Then Christie Gate allows me to draw a card."

But only a hologram of the golden armored demon appeared by her side, just like how her very shields were holographic.

"How sad it is that you don't own a Victory card." Leona ironically stated. "Oh well, I'll be sure to make your defeat even more painful! I summon Aqua Super Emeral and replace one of my shields with a card from my hand."

A green humanoid made of liquid appeared above Leona's shields and used its big hands to replace one of them with a card from her hand. Then the humanoid flew behind her and stood there awaiting new orders from its master.

"Even without your fancy Victory cards, I'll be sure to give you a run for your money, cat girl!" Black Widow replied. "I cast Hyperspatial White Blue Hole and put Cheval, Temporal Demon Spirit in the battle zone. Then I put a card from my hand into my shield zone."

A golden armored creature with an angelic head in the middle and two skeletal demonic heads by its left and right appeared as a hologram next to Codefight Alibi Trick and then a fifth shield also appeared.

"I cast Eureka Charger." Leona said and drew a card, subsequently putting the Water spell in her mana zone.

"I cast Energy Stream." Black Widow said and drew two cards. "Then I summon Emeral."

Upon putting the Water creature in her battle zone, she replaced one of her five shields with a card from her hand.

While the two duels were taking place, the wandering samurai was heading towards the same tower on the longer route that was a crystal blue bridge over a large lake. The red haired duelist also had an unconscious Subaru lying on his back whom he was carrying in the hope of meeting up with the Doctor on his way. But if one could see under his mask, they would notice that he was in fact really worried, and it had nothing to do with his brawl against Tabitha. The problem was with the black haired one that was rest on his back, as he began to recall.

"_Subaru, are you alright?" the samurai asked while shaking the former chosen duelist. "Come on, wake up already, there's no time for snoozing around!"_

_But he received no answer. Angered by this fact, he pulled Subaru's T shirt and turned his head to him only to have the shock of seeing red bloodstains on his cheeks and on his clothes that had small holes which had been caused by the broken shield shards._

"_Wha-what happened to you?" the now shocked samurai uttered and back down. _

The samurai shook his head trying to forget the bloody image. Now all that he wished was to reunite with the Doctor and to finish his mission quickly.

Returning to the two duels at the entrance of the tower, Raven's turn had begun.

"I cast Fortune Slot." he said and revealed his top four cards which were Hyperspatial Gallows Hole, Dark Zabi Glide, Rose Castle and Hyperspatial Emperor Hole, he taking the last three cards into his hand and sending Gallows Hole back to the bottom of his deck. "Then I also summon Dark Zabi Glide and end."

"I summon Moora, Emperor of the Gods and Fuuma Gorgonshack!" Empress Luna said and the purple Lunatic God reappeared, this time with a blue creature that had snake gorgon-like hair. "Heh, Original Heart allows me to draw a card and Gorgonshack makes all of your spells cost 2 mana more, so let's see you try to cast your hyperspatial spells now."

"I wouldn't call that a problem now that I have seven mana. I guess I'll cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole which destroys Moora and puts Alien Father (Just 1 Song?) in the battle zone!"

The purple Lunatic God now exploded as a purple armored king with teeth that looked like spikes coming out of his armor emerged from a hole in the sky. The leader of the Aliens stood above Raven and his creatures and crossed his hands while looking down at his loyal minions – Zabi Barrel and the two Dark Zabi Glides.

"Alien Father turns all of my Aliens into slayers, so I wish you good luck on trying to link your God now." Raven ironically stated. "Anyway, I end my turn."

"No, I won't allow you to ruin my plans!" Empress Luna firmly replied. "I summon Hanzou, Menacing Phantom which gives -6000 to that Alien Father and destroys him!"

A purple demonic frog jumped out of nowhere and swung its sword at the leader of the Aliens, killing him much to the shock of his three minions.

"Fuuma Gorgonshack, break his Rose Castle shield and put Adge, Emperor of the Gods in the battle zone!" Empress Luna continued and a black dragon like creature appeared behind her and roared loudly.

"Ninja Strike 4, I summon Dark Sanji, Darkfang Ninja which gives -2000 to Gorgonshack and destroys him!" Raven said and upon showing his card the snake haired blue creature exploded before it could touch his Rose Castle shield.

As for Black Widow and Leona, the blonde girl was about to unleash one of her deadly combos. With six mana, everything was ready, so she tapped all cards in her mana zone and showed a Light spell, saying:

"I cast Heaven's Gate and put Truename Lalala Lionel and Truename Tiger Legend in the battle zone!"

In the next moment a lion angel with golden wings, green mane, two lion heads on its shoulders and two pairs of hands that held a golden crystal, a sword and two guns appeared behind the girl along with a tiger angel that had its white armor decorated with black stripes and golden blades lying at its edges.

"With Lalala Lionel's effect we play Hardcore Judge and if I win, I'll search my deck and put a spell with 'Heaven's' in its name in my shields." Leona said and then the two revealed the top cards of their decks, she getting Aquan Jr.'s Delivery while Black Widow getting Aqua Super Emeral. "Heh, 3 VS 3, guess I won. I'll now put True Heaven's in my shields. Then for Tiger Legend's effect we play Hardcore Judge once more and for every time I win, I'll put a non-evolution Light blocker in the battle zone!" Leona continued and revealed her top card which was Lionel, Zenith of the "Ore" while Black Widow revealed Codefight Agatha Hercule. "10 VS 9, perfect! I put Truename Paw Lion in the battle zone and return Heaven's Gate to my hand. And… I think that's enough Hardcore Judge for one game. I'll end here."

"I summon Metafiction, Ruler of Fiction." Black Widow said and then a white winged golden centaur demon with two shining swords in its hands appeared by her side. "And now since I got two Demon Commands with cost six or more, Cheval awakens into Cheuxvelt, the Awakened Demon Spirit!"

The small psychic creature got surrounded by a golden aura and it grew in size, receiving a new upper segment to its body that had a golden horned skull and two arms that wielded purple lightning swords.

"Time to start the party – I cast True Heaven's and send Metafiction to your shields!" Leona said and made the centaur demon disappear, granting Black Widow a sixth shield, but then one of her own shields got broken as well.

"Whenever you cast a spell, Cheuxvelt breaks one of your shields." her opponent explained. "Also, Metafiction's effect allows me to return Christie Gate to my hand."

"Shield trigger, I cast Heaven's Double Tail which gives me a new shield and taps Cheuxvelt and Codefight Alibi Trick!"

But just as Leona received a new shield, Cheuxvelt immediately broke it.

"Alright, I was already ignorant of Cheuxvelt's effect, now I gotta be careful regarding her battle zone. Let's see, she has that Alibi Trick that can untap any creature when one of my creatures attack. That's why I chose to rid myself of the blocker. But if I try to attack Alibi Trick and it untaps itself, my attack will be in vain. But let's see the situation as a whole – she has two double breakers and one single breaker, I got four shields left, out of which I know that one is True Heaven's and the other is Heaven's Gate. I might be lucky to get some good blockers from my other two shields for that Heaven's Gate and this way I can afford to stall for time. But she did set up her shields with that Emeral and White Blue Hole. She might have some trap ready for me, but if I manage to pressure her, I might force her to break my shields and activate my shield triggers instead of going after my creatures. Yes, that's what I will do!" Leona reflected upon the situation of the duel.

"Well, are you done with your turn or not?" the impatient Black Widow asked.

"Oh no, I am done with you! Truename Tiger Legend, double break her shields!"

The angelic tiger flew towards Black Widow and used the sharp edges of its armor to slash down two of her shields. Also, Alibi Trick used its effect to untap itself.

"Truename Paw Lion, double break her shields!"

The golden armor lion wielding a silver shield and a rainbow sword swung its sharp weapon and used it to take down two more of Black Widow's shields.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Christie Gate!" the robed girl exclaimed. "With its effect I put Codefight Agatha Hercule from my last shield in the battle zone!"

"Kind of late, don't you think?" Leona mocked her. "Oh well, I guess this is good bye. Truename Lalala Lionel, todomeda!"

Upon hearing the final attack order, Raven turned his head and was shocked to see that his partner had been violently hit by Lalala Lionel's sword and thrown away near the lake lying in a pool of blood. He immediately rushed at her and shook her. He received no response, so he leaned to her and towards his relief he heard her heart beat. However, she was still heavily damaged after the creature's attack.

"Why…" Raven murmured. "Why did you do this?"

"And here I hoped she'd be more entertaining." Leona yawned after putting her deck back in her dress' pocket.

All of a sudden, a powerful wind started blowing and under his cloak the two minions of Tabitha could see two shining lights.

"How dare you?" Raven asked as his body got surrounded by a purple aura. "I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"

After shouting his declaration, he returned to his dueling table and showed a card that was surrounded by the same aura as his body.

"ARISE, ZABI MIRA!" Raven screamed out and a purple demonic Alien with six pairs of arms, a huge mouth in its chest and lacking a head appeared by his side and destroyed his Zabi Barrel and two Zabi Glides, causing Luna to discard Moora, Emperor of the Gods and Mani, Emperor of the Gods. "I put Gallows Cebu Kaiser, Zabi Rigel, Dragon Bone Keel and Hydra Gilsaurus in the battle zone!"

The three psychic creature Aliens that composed the feared Gallows Devil Dragon each descended from holes in the sky that were being caused by Zabi Mira. Raven gave the Empress a glare of wrath and she immediately understood that he was after her. But she would not give up easily, not when she had the Moon backing her up and Tabitha's powers granted to her alongside one of her master's most trusty decks. Failure was not an option.

"My turn, I cast Hades Death Gate and destroy Gallows Cebu Kaiser!" Luna said and then a black gate appeared behind her and opened its doors, revealing black tentacles that ended in mouths with sharp teeth, they targeting the Water Alien of Raven's.

"Don't you even think about it!" Raven replied tossing a Water spell in his graveyard. "I discard Hot Spring – Invincible Time and keep my Gallows Cebu Kaiser."

A hot spring suddenly popped out of the ground like a geyser and pushed the tentacles away from the Alien. The deadly tentacles returned in the gate and out of it came a small purple Lunatic God.

"Tsh, I revive Moora, Emperor of the Gods and Original Heart lets me draw a card. Now I link Adge and Moora!" Empress Luna said and the two Darkness Gods roared in unison as they united. "Go, Adge Moora, double break his shields! Hanzou, break his shield!"

The attack of the two creatures did not shake Raven up any bit. Once his opponent's turn was over, he turned to his Aliens and the three psychic creatures nodded and united, getting surrounded by a purple aura and morphing into a giant grey eyeless dragon with spikes on its body, long tentacles, long wings and sharp teeth.

"Now, foolish creature, behold the might of my Gallows Devil Dragon!" Raven declared and Empress Luna's jaw dropped as she stared at the psychic super creature. "I cast Hyperspatial Gallows Hole and send Adge Moora back to your hand."

"I return Moora, but Adge stays…" Luna barely spoke.

"Then I put Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier in the battle zone and destroy Adge, Emperor of the Gods!"

A golden armored horned demon riding a skeletal horse descended from yet another hole in the sky and used its scythe shaped blue swords to kill the biggest of the Lunatic Gods, Adge.

"Gallows Devil Dragon, attack, send Hanzou back and triple break her shields!" Raven ordered and with a single purple laser ray that the Alien Dragon spat, the purple frog demon disappeared along with three of his opponent's shields.

Once the attack was over, Empress Luna took a look at the cards that she received from her shields and noticed a Hades Death Gate and an Aqua Surfer.

"Shiel…"

"Na'ah!" Raven stopped her. "Gallows Devil Dragon won't let you summon or cast anything for free."

"Curses!" Empress Luna exclaimed in frustration.

"Zabi Mira, break her final shields!"

The purple demon fired a laser from the mouth on its chest and that laser pierced through Empress Luna's final shields. Then the robed duelist ended his turn. All seemed hopeless for Luna. Nothing she could do could save her from an imminent defeat or win the game, so she simply bowed her head down in shame.

"Enjoy your stay in hell, moon girl! Gallows Devil Dragon, todomeda!" Raven coldly ordered and the Alien Dragon gathered a powerful energy in its mouth that it then released in a huge laser beam which threw his opponent away and had her land in another tower.

"Luna!" Leona yelled after her partner.

But before she could go after her, Raven jumped in front of her and gazed at her with his shining red eyes that showed no mercy. However, Leona chose to stand her ground and raised her fists, ready for anything.

"You're next, minion of Tabitha Lenox!" Raven threatened and she noticed that his voice had changed to a deeper, growled otherworldly one.

"Just who are you?" Leona asked, forcing herself to hide her fear.

"Your end, that's who." was his response as he approached her.

But right in that moment a lightning struck Raven and had him collapse on the floor filled with burns. How was that possible? The sky was clear like a crystal. Leona looked up and saw that atop the tower's roof stood Tabitha, like a cold judge that had just given her sentence.

"Tabitha-sama!" Leona exclaimed and watched how her master jumped off the tower and landed on her feet in front of her. "You were watching us the whole time?"

"Yes, now that the Doctor and his foolish friends are approaching, nothing is supposed to stand in our way." Tabitha replied to her minion and then she turned to the unconscious Raven. "It is time to take out the trash."

In the next moment the two horns from her red crown stretched towards the robed duelist and grabbed him by the neck like a crab's pincer. They lifted him up and then they threw him away with such force that he destroyed both his and his partner's dueling tables and had him land next to Black Widow with all their cards on them. Tabitha snapped her fingers and a hole in the ground appeared through which the duo fell out of the castle and into the sea.

"I will wait for the Doctor inside. You keep his friends busy." Tabitha ordered and walked in the tower.

"As you command, Tabitha-sama." Leona respectfully bowed.

The Doctor suddenly popped out of the lake in which the jet of water from the sewers took him and he landed on the bridge a few feet away from the samurai. Upon seeing him, the young warrior ran at him, put Subaru down and helped the wet one get on his feet.

"Doctor, are you alright?" the concerned samurai asked.

"Oh don't worry, I've had worse days than this." the Doctor replied while squeezing the water out of his jacket's sleeves. "How about you?"

"Doing just great." the samurai sarcastically replied. "Just met a freak in one of the towers and now Subaru's unconscious and has blood over his face."

"A freak?"

"Yes, Doctor, a freak."

"What sort of freak, Rad?"

"It's the wandering samurai to you! And I don't know, he was wearing a robe and he wanted to duel Subaru in my place. He knocked me out and when I woke up I found him in the way he is now. Don't worry, he's alive, I checked."

"Hm…" the Doctor rubbed his chin while looking at Subaru.

"Do you have any plan?" the samurai asked.

The Doctor walked to the darkness duelist and used his screwdriver to scan his body. Then he turned to the fire wielding samurai and gave his verdict:

"I don't know what's with that blood on him, but he will survive. Well, I guess there's no problem in bringing him with us."

"Are we going where I think we're going?"

"Yes, yes we are. But you'll still be the one carrying him."

"I knew you'd say that…"

"Glad we can agree. Now hurry up, we've got work to do!"

Sighing, the samurai once again got Subaru on his back and together with the Doctor he headed to the other edge of the bridge that lead to yet another tower. On their way, the samurai recalled yet again the painful memories with which he came from feudal Japan, the rage that he felt inside for the witch growing strong by each second that passed, by each step that he took. The weight that Subaru was pressing on his back was nothing compared with the great ache that he felt in his damaged heart. All that he wished was to finally make justice for his clan so that he himself would find peace at long last. But then he took a look at the Doctor and noticed the gloomy expression on his face that did not betray any solid emotion. The time traveler was so mysterious that he could hardly decipher what he was truly feeling. Why did he even wish to help him that much to get to Tabitha? What were his reasons? Did he actually care that much for him? Or maybe the Doctor has other hidden motives for seeing the witch? In those moments the samurai did not know whom he could trust anymore.

"We're here." the Doctor suddenly woke him up to reality.

The duo had walked off the bridge and was now sitting face to face with Leona who was guarding the tower looking as menacing as the Nemean lion.

"The Doctor, I presume?" Leona asked and received a mod as an answer. "Tabitha-sama awaits you inside. You may proceed… but alone."

"I'm sorry, but I also have a meeting with Tabitha!" the samurai said while putting Subaru on the ground.

"I knew you would say that." the blonde girl replied and showed her deck. "That's why I came prepared."

"Alright, I'll let you kids play while I go and talk with the big bad witch." the Doctor said and headed to the tower. "Oh, and take care of my assistant while I'm gone."

"Don't worry, he's on good hands." the samurai replied.

The Doctor nodded to him and then he walked inside. The tower was built as yet another vertical building with a spiraled staircase of which he was not surprised. As he was going on his climbing journey, he could hear the beginning moves of the duel from outside.

"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy her." the samurai said and the top card of his deck which was Bolbalzak Ex landed in his mana zone.

"I charge mana and end." Leona passed.

"I charge mana and summon Dreaming Moon Knife. By its effect I put Aqua Surfer from my hand in the mana zone."

"I summon Aqua Super Emeral and replace one of my shields with a card from my hand."

"I evolve Dreaming Moon Knife into Cosmo Cebu Lambda, the Super Electromagnetic!"

A dark blue robotic Alien that lacked a head and had three pairs of light blue wings appeared in the battle zone. The samurai sent the card underneath Cosmo Cebu to the graveyard while tapping it and said:

"Meteorburn, I send Dreaming Moon Knife to the graveyard and Lambda allows me to draw three cards. Now go, Cosmo Cebu Lambda, double break her shields!"

The creature created a laser ball in its hands which it cast upon two of Leona's shields. The girl showed no sign of having received shield triggers, so the samurai ended his turn.

"I summon another Aqua Super Emeral and again I replace a shield with a card from my hand. I end." Leona did her turn rather quicker than usual.

"She's certainly planning something with those Emerals, but I can't wait and give her enough time to gain control over the field. I've got to take the risks and finish her quickly." the samurai thought.

Meanwhile the Doctor had reached the end of the spiraled stairs and ended up in front of a wooden door. Not thinking twice, he pushed it open and saw a lonely brick dungeon in which Tabitha was waiting for him apparently like a damsel in distress.

"Ah, at long last you have arrived!" the witch exclaimed. "Come in, you have the honor of being my guest tonight."

"Well, the pleasure's all mine." the Doctor smiled and closed the door walking in.

"I have waited for this moment in which the two of us could be alone for a long time, Doctor. Now it has finally come."

"Frankly I am happy to be here as well." the man with bowtie replied and stopped in front of his host. "I guess you owe me something since our last meeting."

"I do? Care to refresh my memory?" Tabitha acted innocently.

"Answers, Miss Lenox, I want answers. You promised you would give me some."

"Ah yes, of course I did. And now since there's nobody to disturb us, I guess I can give you some."

"Good. In that case I guess I'll start." the Doctor announced and looked her in the eye. "Tabitha Lenox, just who are you?"

"Who? Me?" the witch acted childishly by putting both her palms on her chest. "Oh I am nobody of great importance, just another forgotten ostracized genius."

"You say you're a genius… And yet I have heard that you like to call yourself the 'Queen of Evil'. Tell me, are you actually a queen?"

"I am. But my kingdom does not encompass a small chunk of land like these humans foolishly do with their lowly conquests. No, no, Doctor, my kingdom is going to include not only this whole solar system, but also the whole Milky Way galaxy! And once I conquer the hardest planet of them all, the populated one, the other eight will be easy to populate and assimilate into my rule."

"You have high goals, Tabitha."

"What can I say? A woman has to dream, hasn't she?"

"Indeed she can. And just by looking into your eyes I can see that this dream of yours has lasted for a really long time, for over centuries even."

"Two thousand years to be more exact."

"How did you do it, Tabitha? Humans on planet Earth cannot live more than a century, how did you manage to outlive them all?"

"Oh, that's quite easy – I'm a witch!"

"Don't give me that, I've seen lots of so called 'witches' to know that they're frauds and they don't have the slightest bit of immortality. But the same can't be said about you."

"Well, those witches did not have a serious contract with the Devil like I had."

"A contract… with the Devil? You mean with the actual guy with horns from…"

"Yes, Doctor, I had a contract with Sir Lucy. The deal was easy: I did his bidding and brought chaos upon this world in exchange for assured immortality. Once I would die, I would spend three weeks in hell and then be reborn with a new body that looked exactly the same as the previous one. Sadly, it seems that I have disappointed him for way too many times, because he has decided to cancel our contract."

"What have you done to upset him that much as to not give you another chance?"

"I… I've stopped one of my former disciples from taking over the world, thing which I had planned to do! But in order to stop him… I had to team up with the good guys, and it seems that sir Lucy did not like what I had done, even if I had stabbed those brats in the back and even took some of them to the grave along with me."

"You're talking about the chosen duelists, aren't you?"

"I see you've done some homework as well, Doctor. Yes, I, Tabitha Lenox, had teamed up with the five chosen duelists for a period of time. Alas, it was short lived."

"Didn't you have the least of remorse to turn against them after what you went through?"

"Remorse? Please, Doctor, I haven't felt remorse in a very, very long time."

"Despite all that you had been through, here you are, standing against us, wishing to once again pull fate's hand in your favor, all just to achieve your goals."

"Right you are, my dear guest, and remember that Tabitha Lenox never gives up. As long as my wretched heart beats, you will see me out there, fighting for nobody but myself."

"Ah yes, the eternal loner that uses others for his own gains and then dumps them like trash… Tell me, Tabitha, was everything that you had done these past two thousand years really worth it?"

"Of c…"

"But before you answer, I really want you to think of all that you had been through. All the lives you took, all the people you manipulated, all the ones you've betrayed, and I also want you to think about what you had received from all of your schemes. Think about it really good and then give me your honest answer."

Tabitha turned away from the Doctor and walked back to the window, looking again at the duel between Leona and the samurai.

"I summon Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon!" the samurai said and the red samurai dragon with golden mane appeared in the battle zone wielding its two cross shaped swords. "Go, Cosmo Cebu Lambda, activate meteorburn that gives me three more cards in hand and double break her shields!"

"Block the attack, Aqua Super Emeral!" Leona ordered and the Alien's attack was stopped by the little green liquid humanoid that got crushed by it.

"Go, Genji Double Cross, destroy her other Super Emeral and double break her shields!"

Heeding his master's order, Genji used one of his swords to slash Leona's final blocker into pieces and then he used the other sword to take down two of her three remaining shields. But this time a grin of satisfaction appeared on the girl's face as she revealed one of the two cards she received from her shields and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Heaven's Gate and put Truename White of Lionel and Truename Tiger Legend in the battle zone!"

The mighty lion themed angels appeared by the girl's side shining it their glorious splendor.

"With White of Lionel's effect I gain a shield, a card in my mana zone and a card in my hand. As for Tiger Legend's effect, we play Hardcore Judge until I lose or decide to stop myself, and for each time I win, I'll put a non-evolution Light blocker in the battle zone. Now let's go – Hardcore Judge!" Leone said and she revealed the top card of her deck which was Energy Stream, while the samurai's was Faerie Gift. "3 VS 1, I win and put Lord Reis, Spirit of Wisdom in the battle zone and draw a card. Then let's do it again, Hardcore Judge!" this time she revealed True Heaven's while the samurai revealed Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole. "7 VS 5, I won yet again and this time put Truename Paw Lion in the battle zone! By its effect I return Heaven's Gate into my hand and Lord Reis also allows me to draw another card. Again, Hardcore Judge!" the third time they played, Leona revealed Truename Lalala Lionel while the samurai revealed Evolution Totem. "How sweet, 7 VS 4, I win yet again. Hm, this time I guess I'll put Truename Lalala Lionel in the battle zone. Lord Reis lets me draw a card and I guess I'll stop with Tiger Legend's Hardcore Judge here. Now let's have some Hardcore Judge for Lalala Lionel!" the girl eagerly said and revealed Heaven's Cube while her opponent revealed Geo Crashing Miranda, the Dimensional Force. "Aw, bummer, 3 VS 5, you finally won… Oh well, I at least managed to get my lovely lions out, and that's all that matters, no?"

"Has anyone told you that you talk too much?" a rather angered samurai replied.

"I'd say that winners are allowed to hold pre-victory speeches. Anyway, time to finish this; I summon Kibbate Cat, Spirit of Heaven Gate."

The girl looked at the top four cards of her deck and she selected Heaven's Double Tail which went into her hand while the others went to the bottom of her deck.

"Go, White of Lionel, double break his shields! Then, Paw Lion, double break his shields! Lalala Lionel, break his final shield!" Leona ordered and one by one her giant lion angels took down all of the samurai's shields.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Intense Vacuuming Twist!" the samurai showed the only shield trigger that he received from his very last shield. "By its effect I take Hyperspatial Shooting Hole to my hand and send Truename Tiger Legend back to your hand!"

"Heh, I end. This is your last chance to beat me, samurai boy. Come at me with all you've got!"

The samurai sweated nervously. He knew that she was right and that it all depended on fate now. If he could not get lucky enough as to defeat her in that turn, then he was done for. But he could not lose, not to her. He had to defeat her in order to get to his master and failure was not an option. The tension was growing higher as he finally decided to make a move by showing a Fire spell and saying:

"I cast… Hyperspatial Shooting Hole! I destroy Lord Reis and put Gaial Kaiser in the battle zone!"

A red armored dragon with a long tail, two long horns stretched to its back like hair and that was wielding two yellow flaming swords appeared next to the samurai's other creatures and stood there ready for action.

"Genji Double Cross, destroy Kibbate Cat and break her final shields!" the samurai ordered.

"Heh, nice try." Leona grinned upon watching her opponent's Dragon take down her last two shields. "Shield trigger activate, I cast Heaven's Gate and put Truename Tiger Legend and Kibbate Cat, Spirit of Heaven Gate in the battle zone! It's all over for you, pal."

"Grr… no, not over! Cosmo Cebu Lambda, todomeda!"

"Block the attack, Truename Tiger Legend!"

"Gaial Kaiser, todomeda!"

"I'm sorry, but no. Kibbate Cat, block it!"

The samurai growled in frustration as he glared at the victorious girl.

"I've got to give you credit, though. You managed to entertain me, something that nobody could do in quite some time now." Leona said while putting her hand on her Truename White of Lionel card. "Now let me show you my thanks. Todome…"

Before she could finish her order, someone suddenly grabbed her hand. When she looked to see who it was, she was surprised of seeing Subaru.

Tabitha sighed and turned back to the Doctor who eagerly asked:

"Well, what is your answer, Tabitha Lenox?"

"Here is my answer." she replied by showing her deck. "I am Tabitha Lenox, the Queen of Evil, and nobody is going to stand in my way of world domination, not even you, Doctor!"

"I guess that some things never change." the Doctor said while taking out his own deck. "Well then, I guess a match won't hurt."

Two dueling tables made of stone came out of the floor for the two. Both walked to them, set their cards and thus their duel began.

"I cast Faerie Life!" Tabitha said and Deathraios, Cursed Blade Reaper landed in her mana zone.

"I charge mana and end." the Doctor sighed, he did not have a good hand.

"I cast Lifeplan Charger! By its effect I look at the top five cards of my deck and I'll take Olzekia, General of Decapitation to my hand while the other four go to the bottom of my deck. Then I put Lifeplan Charger in my mana zone and end."

"I cast Geo Bronze Magic! I'll put the top card of my deck to the mana zone and if it's a Fire or Light one, I'll get to draw a card."

But sadly for the Doctor, the card that landed in his mana zone was Codename Snake, a card that did not have any of the mentioned civilizations.

"Oh how unfortunate for the poor Doctor, haha." Tabitha laughed. "Anyway, let's do some damage – I summon Jenny the Dismantling Doll! By her effect you'll have to show me your hand and I'll discard a card."

"Not good…" the Doctor uttered as he revealed his hand – Death Six, Ruthless Prince, Geo Bronze Magic, Hogan Blaster and Onimaru "Head", Victory Rush.

"I shall discard… that cute little Hogan Blaster. Then I end."

"My turn, I charge mana and cast Geo Bronze Magic!"

The top card of the Doctor's deck that went into his mana zone was Spell Del Fin, Light Divine Dragon, which meant that he could finally draw a card.

"Then I also cast Faerie Life!" the Doctor continued and this time Baban Ban Ban, Earth's Blessing also landed in his mana zone.

"Oh, you're so quickly boosting up your mana, all for that one card in your hand. It's so sad that you will never use it, Doctor. I summon Gal Volf, Dark Wolfblade and pick the race Hunter!" Tabitha said and made the Doctor reveal his hand to her yet again – Death Six, Ruthless Princess and Onimaru "Head", Victory Rush. "I'll discard that pesky Onimaru "Head" and you'll also have to choose one of your shields and send it to the graveyard!"

"Oh boy…"

Much to the Doctor's dismay, the shield that he chose to send to the graveyard was The Door of Miracle of Mystery.

"Now it is your turn, Doctor." Tabitha passed.

"Well, I've got nothing to lose, so I guess I'll summon Death Six, Ruthless Prince!" the Doctor said and the purple armored red caped horned demon with a green X scar on its chest and a green laser in its right hand appeared behind him and used its weapon to destroy Tabitha's Jenny and Gal Volf. "Death Six destroys all creatures with cost six or less, so I hope you don't mind if I do some cleaning."

"I have no problem if you do, Doctor. Though to be honest, I am rather surprised to see that you are also using Demon Commands."

"You must thank my assistant for that; he is the one that gifted me with this beauty behind me."

"I see, it's that brat's doing. No doubt, he also helped you build this Miramisu deck of yours."

"Right you are. I owe him so much for this help of his."

"I guess he'll be disappointed when he finds out that your deck lost to mine."

"We shall see about that, won't we, Tabitha?"

"Right you are, Doctor. I cast Seventh Tower and since I have seven mana, I use its Metamorph and put the top three cards of my deck to the mana zone!"

The cards that landed in Tabitha's mana zone were Hanzou, Menacing Phantom, Bronze-Arm Tribe and Bell Hell De Gaul, Footprint of the Reaper.

"Then I summon Gajirabute, Vile Centurion and by its effect I send one of your shields to the graveyard!" Tabitha said grinning and then a dark blue demon with angel wings appeared in the battle zone and used its lightning sword to destroy one of the Doctor's shields and have its card that was Positron Sign land in his graveyard.

"Down another trigger goes." Tabitha joked. "Anyway, it's your turn."

"Alright then, I cast The Door of Miracle and Mystery!" the Doctor said and he revealed the top four cards of his deck that were Faerie Life, GILL Supergalactic Dragon and two Onimaru "Head", Victory Rush.

"I choose GILL Supergalactic Dragon." was the witch's response.

A golden Armored Dragon equipped with guns appeared in the battle zone and used them to blast Gajirabute and one of Tabitha's shields into oblivion, the card from that shield being Falconer, Lightfang Ninja.

"I summon Olzekia, General of Decapitation. I destroy my Olzekia and both your creatures." Tabitha said and the black demon slashed both Death Six and GILL with its swords before committing suicide, the trio disappearing in a huge explosion. "Now the tides are evened once more."

"So it seems, but not for long. I cast The Door of Miracle and Mystery once more!" the Doctor said and this time the top cards of his deck were Codename Sherlock, Spell Del Fin, Light Divine Dragon, Intense Vacuuming Twist and Codename Snake.

"I choose Codename Snake." the witch answered and she watched how the snake-headed winged blue creature appear by the Doctor's side and granted him a card in his hand and a new card in his mana zone. "My turn, I summon Zabi Olzekia, Demonic Sword General and destroy both my Zabi Olzekia and your Codename Snake!"

"That's not cool…"

Once again the creatures that they had disappeared in explosions, leaving the battle zone empty. It seemed that the longer the duel lasted, the bigger advantage Tabitha had. The Doctor needed that one trump in order to finish his opponent for good, but he did not have good luck so far, for one of the four copies of it was in his graveyard and the other two near the bottom of his deck. However, he felt a pulse come out of his deck, almost as if the cards were trying to reach out to him and aid him in his battle as well. Trusting them, he drew his next card and a big smile appeared on his face. It was what he wished to draw.

"Well, what did you get?" an intrigued Tabitha asked.

"Nothing much, just one of the best Fire cards out there!" the Doctor replied while placing the DNA Spark from his hand in the mana zone and tapping all ten cards. "I summon Onimaru "Head", Victory Rush!"

A red armored dragon with a long tail, two long horns stretched to its back like hair and that was wielding two yellow flaming swords appeared in the battle zone and gave a war cry.

"Now, Tabitha, let me show you how I duel! Go, Onimaru "Head", attack and let's play some Hardcore Judge!" the Doctor exclaimed and he revealed his top card as Hogan Blaster while Tabitha got Olzekia, General of Decapitation. "That's bollocks, why can't things work for me today?"

"What's the matter, Doctor? Got some problems with winning Hardcore Judge?" Tabitha sarcastically replied as she watched Onimaru "Head" slash three of her shields and finally grant her some cards in her hand. "Thank you, you gave me exactly what I needed."

Back at the tower's entrance, both the samurai and Leona were surprised of seeing that Subaru was awake and sitting on his feet. They were so caught up in their duel that they had forgotten all about him. But then the biggest shock came to the blonde girl when Subaru opened his eyes and mouth, revealing his black eyes with shining red pupils out of which bloody tears were swelling, while his mouth was decorated with sharp fangs.

"What the hell?!" Leona shouted and quickly freed herself from the grip, backing down and taking a defense position.

"What's the matter, kitty cat? I thought you wanted some entertainment." he spoke to her with a lower toned voice that sounded both whispered and hissed.

"Stay away from me, whatever you are!"

"Or else what, kitty? You're going to bite? Or maybe scratch me? I'd love to see you try."

"I don't know how many hits you received in that thick head of yours, but I'm not going to put up with your shit, you got it, Subaru?"

"Oh really? Is that why you abandoned Blane and kept acting like miss badass loner? Because you don't want to put up with people's shit? Or maybe is it because you're too big of a pussy to face responsibility for your own actions?"

In the next moment Leona rushed at him intending to punch him, but much to her surprise, Subaru was faster than her and grabbed her right fist in a tight grip.

"What's the matter, pussy cat? Do you want to play with me?" Subaru asked and approached her face with his.

"Let go of me, you idiot!" Leona shouted and aimed with her left hand's claws for his cheek.

But in the next moment she saw that the only blood that fell was from her own left hand. Subaru's cheek was perfectly intact, but his fangs were stained with her very own blood.

"You're not the only Lion around here, kitty." Subaru whispered to her.

In the next moment Leona screamed in shock and fainted. Subaru let go of her and turned to the samurai who had packed his deck up and had his sword ready to defend himself.

"Subaru, I don't know what happened to you, but cut it out in this instant!" the samurai demanded.

"Nice demands you got there, pal." Subaru replied and suddenly he disappeared.

Before the samurai could notice, the black haired teen appeared behind him and pulled off his golden mask.

"Now let's see who's been pestering me lately." the demonic Subaru said and when he took a better look at the one in front of him, a shocked expression appeared on his face.

At the tower, the whole building began to shake as Tabitha placed a Zero civilization card that was surrounded by a white aura in the battle zone.

"I summon Zeta-File, Zenith of "Mystery"!" the witch declared.

A white serpent-like demon that was wielding golden swords with its skeletal arms, had two pairs of white horns, one which resembled wings, the creature also having a pair of white angelic wings on its back and a green crystal shining majestically in its chest appeared in the battle zone, filling the room's air with its evil.

"Ah, it's great to be alive once again!" Zeta-File declared.

"My goodness…" the Doctor could barely speak upon seeing the imposing stature of the former leader of the Zeta clan who had now been reborn as a Zenith.

"Meet my avatar, Doctor. Devil Diabolos Zeta, now reincarnated as the beautiful Zeta-File, and he will mark your end! By his effect I now revive all Demon Commands from my graveyard!" Tabitha spoke with excitement and she watched how one by one, Gal Volf, Zabi Olzekia, Olzekia and Gajirabute all returned from her graveyard. "With Olzekia's effect I destroy Zeta-File and Onimaru "Head"!"

The black demon used its swords and slashed the avatars of both duelists, much to the Doctor's surprise who asked:

"But why would you destroy your own creature?"

"Heh, Eternal Omega, whenever Zeta-File leaves the battle zone, he returns to my hand!" Tabitha spoke satisfied as she took the Zero card back in her hand. "Also, Gajirabute sends a shield of yours to the graveyard!"

This time the shield that had fallen victim to Gajirabute's unforgiving lightning sword was one that contained an Intense Vacuuming Twist.

"And now it is your turn, dear Doctor. Let's see you get out of this situation."

"With pleasure!" the Doctor exclaimed and drew his next card only to be disappointed of getting a Faerie Life. "I… um… I charge mana and end."

"How sweet! My turn, I summon Zeta-File, Zenith of "Mystery" which destroys all of my other creatures and puts all of my Demon Commands from the graveyard in the battle zone!"

"What? Again?"

"Yes, Doctor, again. Olzekia destroys my Zeta-File that goes back into my hand while Gajirabute sends yet another one of your shields to the graveyard!"

The process from the previous turn repeated itself once more and this time the shield that went to the graveyard was a Hogan Blaster.

"Come on, deck, I need your help now!" the Doctor said and drew his next card only to get yet another Faerie Life which ended up in his mana zone. "Those things wouldn't come at the start of the game, they had to come now!"

"Now you know the frustrations of a duelist, Doctor. Not that this will help you win the duel, of course." Tabitha arrogantly spoke. "I summon Zeta-File, Zenith of "Mystery", destroy all my other creatures and bring forth my army of Demon Commands for a third time!"

Once again all of Tabitha's Demon Commands got destroyed and reemerged from the graveyard, Olzekia this time killing its Alien counterpart known as Zabi Olzekia and Gajirabute sending the Doctor's last shield which was DNA Spark directly to the graveyard.

"All his shields were shield triggers and he could use none. How sad. Then again, Gajirabute is a great card." Tabitha commented.

"Too good if you ask me…" the Doctor replied sourly.

"If you want to talk about 'too good' cards, then I would have to place that Door of Miracle and Mystery on the candidate list. That card is simply broken in your deck type."

"It's not!"

"Deny it all you want, Doctor, but this is the truth."

"No it's not! My turn, I cast Geo Bronze Magic!" the Doctor stubbornly persisted but sadly for him the card that landed in his mana zone was Death Six, Ruthless Prince and he could not draw a card for Geo Bronze Magic's second effect.

"Hahahahaha, face it, Doctor, you've lost!" Tabitha laughed victoriously. "And now it's time to put you out of your misery. Zeta-File, finish the good Doctor off, todomeda!"

The Zenith flew towards his master's opponent and used both of his swords to hit him and have him fall down the stairs with his cards. But then Tabitha also fired a beam upon one of The Door of Miracle and Mystery cards and said:

"From this day forth, I, Tabitha Lenox, who have passed the borderlines of the Hall of Fame, now use the power invested in me to restrict you, The Door of Miracle and Mystery! And as a price to pay for this, I shall also offer my Seventh Tower to restriction! Now may it be done!"

Outside, the devilish Subaru was staring with amazement at the unmasked samurai. Gathering his power to speak, he forced his mouth open and barely uttered with his normal human voice:

"Rad-kun… is that really you?"

Rad did not respond, he just simply looked away from Subaru. In that moment the blood ceased falling from the darkness duelist's eyes and got replaced by tears as the blackness in them faded away and the shining red pupils reverted to the usual warm brown colored ones. The fangs also reverted to his usual teeth and the maleficent grin turned into a frown.

"Is this a dream? Are you actually alive?" Subaru asked but again received no response.

All of a sudden, the whole castle started to shake as it began moving towards the west, following the moon's journey on the celestial bolt. The Doctor fell from the tower with all his cards and upon seeing this, Subaru dropped the golden mask and rushed to aid him. Rad quickly snatched his mask back and used it to cover his face, after which he joined Subaru in helping the hurt Doctor.

"What happened? You look really hurt!" Subaru remarked.

"Boys, we've got no time to waste, let's get out of here before she catches all of us!" the Doctor said.

"But we can't just let Tabitha get away!" the samurai reminded them while he was picking up the Doctor's cards.

"Oh yes we can and we will do so! She is way too powerful for us, we stand no chance against her, now let's all stop arguing and go to the TARDIS now!" the Doctor spoke in a nutshell.

Not having any other option, the two boys helped him up and the trio rushed all the way back to the TARDIS. But little did they know that Tabitha was following them from above. Once they set foot in the machine the witch immediately struck it with lightning a couple of times and shook it until it fell nonfunctional and the three males inside it also fell unconscious. With the heroes as prisoners in her castle, nothing would be able to stand in her glorious path anymore. Victory was hers.

* * *

_Tabitha (finishes her glass of wine): Hahaha, I told you it was a hell of an experience! Everything is going better than I ever imagined that it's almost too good to be true! Soon, very soon, this world shall be all mine and every human will hail me as the Queen of (hick) Evil!_

_Zeta-File: Maybe things would go smoother if you stopped drinking and resting on your laurels so early. _

_Tabitha: And just what do you know about being an evil mastermind, Zeta? (hick) Do you have over two thousand years of evil deeds like I have? Have you ever conquered anything?_

_Zeta-File: Well…_

_Tabitha: I knew it, you have no such thing! Now shut up (hick) and go do something useful like bringing me some ice for my wine!_

_Zeta-File: Sometimes I wonder why we are on the same team… (flies away)_

_Tabitha: The nerve of that thing to question the word of the almighty Tabitha! Anyway, all's well that ends bad and I am going to take a nap. This is yours faithfully Tabitha Lenox wishing you to have a bad day under my future rule! See you soon, my future minions! (falls asleep on her throne)_

* * *

_[In the next chapter]:_

_The second round of the tournament begins and Blane along with Tiger and Tamma have to make their way through the obstacles that are represented by Roger and his minions. But Blaze and Trey also keep interfering, and ultimately two our heroes are pinned against them. Just what are the intentions of the mysterious robed duelists?_


	14. Picking up

_Blaze(drinking a soda): Hey there, it's us, Blaze and Trey, the mysterious robed duelists from the tournament!_

_Trey(munching a candy bar): Who are these guys anyway?_

_Blaze: Beats me, but I guess it's our job to entertain them._

_Trey: Who says so?_

_Blaze: I don't know, but let's just tell them what happened to us at the tournament, shall we?_

_Trey(shrugs): Guess there's no harm in that?_

_Blaze: Sweet!_

* * *

The samurai groaned as his eyelids slowly opened and allowed him to see the interior of the damaged TARDIS. Immediately he recalled the crash that the time traveling machine had due to their enemy's attack. Gathering enough strength, he got up on his feet and set out to see what was going on. Once he opened the door, he was greeted by the sight of a forest's valley filled with red and white mushrooms. The sun was shining upon the pale blue celestial bolt, its powerful rays still bringing warmth upon the trees whose leaves were slowly turning from green to yellow. A few of the rays were also being reflected upon the crystal clear stream that was making its way in the middle of the valley.

At the edge of the cliff upon which the TARDIS had crash landed, the Doctor and Subaru were sitting, both having their heads turned to the east. From what the red haired warrior could tell, the Doctor was holding a deck in his right hand and a screwdriver in his left hand while Subaru was having a rucksack on his back.

"Just what's going on here?" he asked himself and made slow steps on the grass so that he could approach without them noticing him.

"Thanks for helping me rebuild my deck. It was really handy." the Doctor admitted.

"Anytime, though I have to say that the restriction of The Door of Miracle and Mystery is kind of a drawback for you." Subaru remarked.

"Well that's not going to stop me from getting back to Tabitha. I have a score to settle with her."

"Doctor, you've seen her in action, you know very well that she means business. I mean, look, she caused the restriction of one of your trumps!"

"Oh it will take more than a measly little card restriction to make me back down, that much is for sure."

"I'm sure she has much more planned for us. Anyway, how are we supposed to get to her?"

"Well, the sonic screwdriver says that her castle also crashed somewhere not really that far from where we are now."

"But where are we anyway?"

"Some strange island in the middle of the Pacific, that's where. I don't know how, but somehow the TARDIS fell off her castle and landed here."

"And where exactly is this 'here'?"

"It seems like a forest that is located not far from the shores of the island. If we go deeper in the east, there's a desert waiting us at the end of the forest, and this desert surrounds the center of the island in which a chain of volcanoes lies. There!" the Doctor pointed in the far horizon that was covered in trees and at which Subaru could barely distinguish the golden lines of the desert's sands. "In the volcanoes, that's where her castle crashed."

"That screwdriver of yours is really good." an amazed Subaru commented and made the prideful Doctor arrange his bowtie with a big smile on his face. "You still didn't tell me exactly what had happened back then." the black haired teen's voice changed.

"Oh, regarding Tabitha?" the Doctor asked and received a nodded answer. "Let's just say that I've got some unfinished business with her."

"I understand. In that case, remember that no matter what, I am always by your side!"

"Like the loyal assistant that you are."

"Hey, I've got to be good at something, no?"

"You're right. I am so lucky to have found you, Suzuki!"

"It's Subaru, for goodness' sake!" Subaru suddenly burst in anger.

"But that's exactly what I said!" the Doctor defended himself.

In the next moment a red blade appeared between the two of them, seeming as if it wanted to separate one from the other. The duo turned their eyes to the masked warrior whose red eyes were locked onto the black haired teen.

"Oh, I didn't notice you woke up. Good morning!" the Doctor jollily spoke.

"Doctor, I believe that you have some business in the TARDIS." the samurai suggested and received an odd glare which made him turn his sword to the man with bowtie. "Now!"

"I see, you want some time with Honda here. Sure, no worries, if you boys need me, you know where to find me."

Thus the Doctor waltzed out of the samurai's sword threat and returned to the blue box. Now the two former chosen duelists were all alone. Subaru felt rather uncomfortable having the masked stranger near him, especially since that blade was not too far from his own body. Still, he gathered up the courage he needed to speak, trying to not think of the consequences of eventually annoying the one next to him.

"So what do you want from me now?"

"Oh, you know very well, Subaru!" the samurai's response came along with the deck that he pulled out. "Or did you forget already what you owed me since we were back at the castle?"

"You're still hungry for a duel, aren't you?" Subaru remarked sighing at the ridiculousness of the situation. "Man, listen, I don't know your real motives, but aren't you supposed to be going after Tabitha? Seriously now, why would you waste your time playing with me when you've got a witch to kill?"

"Don't you dare question my motives!" the red haired duelist shouted and approached his sword to Subaru's neck. "If you know what's good for you, you'll do as I say!"

"Ah yes, the old 'no questions, just follow blindly' method, all implemented through violence, but the difference is that you are good because you're against Tabitha, therefore on 'our side'. And yet, deep down inside, you know your behavior isn't too different from that witch tyrant." the black haired male analyzed his interlocutor.

"Spare me the fancy talk, I need to train and you're the best challenge I can get."

"I see now, I'm just a punching bag for you, no?"

"Yes. Now get that deck of yours out!"

Seeing no other way to reason with him, Subaru put his right hand in his jeans' pocket and pulled out his deck.

Little did they know that the period for which that had laid unconscious was for five days, since Friday had once again arrived and thus the second round of the tournament had begun. At the dueling arena, the crowd went wild as Yuu and Atsuto hosted the first match of the day. Not paying attention to what was going on around him, Tamma closed his eyes and envisioned the warm and supportive smile of Subaru that had followed him up to that very point. Then he also remembered the spirit of his fallen idol Rad whom he always admired for his charm, his grin of confidence boosting the young boy's own. As Tamma prayed at his two idols to help him win the duel, he was interrupted by his opponent, the cloaked duelist Blaze, who shouted at him:

"Hey kid, it's no time for daydreaming!"

"Whoa? What happened?" Tamma opened his eyes.

"Look who didn't get some sleep last night. Are ya gonna do something or stand there like a moron?" the impatient Blaze asked.

"Oh right, the duel!" the red haired child snapped and did his third turn. "I evolve B-Boy, the Explosive into Ogre Hell, Annihilator Fist."

A humanoid in a dark red armor with cannons for arms appeared behind Tamma.

"Destroy Super Go On Pippi." the younger duelist ordered and had the armored creature blast the fire bird with sunglasses into oblivion. "Now go, Ogre Hell, double break his shields!" another order came and the creature now shot down two of the robed opponent's shields.

"Haha, lucky! Shield trigger activate, I cast Natural Snare!" Blaze happily exclaimed and a pair of vines caught Tamma's creature and made it disappear, the cards of Ogre Hell and B-Boy landing in the mana zone as the fourth and fifth. "And now it's my turn, I charge mana and cast Mendelssohn!" the cloaked duelist announced as two cards landed tapped in his mana zone – Truekaiser Max Adrenaline and Codename Balga Ragon.

"Brilliant! In just their third and fourth turns they managed to boost up lots of mana!" Yuu noticed.

"True, but it should be noted that Tamma-kun got his mana boost rather unexpectedly from Blaze-kun's fabulous Natural Snare. Not that I would complain since the bigger the mana number, the more intense the duel is." Atsuto's lengthy reply followed.

"I summon Moel, Rider Ogre!" Tamma's voice brought the focus back to the duel as the red haired purple armored female humanoid appeared in the battle zone riding a war machine. "By its effect I look at the top four cards of my deck and select a creature with both the Hunter and Alien races to take into my hand. Hm, I'll take… Masamune Explosion, Drill Ogre. I end."

"I take it that you wanna evolve that creature? No can do, pal!" Blaze broke it to him. "I summon Cocco Lupia and Mitsurugi Boost, Matchless Dragon Demon!"

A black horned green winged red armored Dragon wielding a red flame sword and a flaming red cannon appeared by Blaze's side, being encircled by a jolly flying Fire Bird with a crown on its head.

"By its effect I send Mitsurugi Boost to my mana zone and destroy your Moel!" Blaze explained and watched how his Dragon slashed the humanoid female and then transformed into a mana crystal and vanished as its card landed tapped in his mana zone. "I end my turn here."

"Don't worry; I have plenty evo baits around!" Tamma assured him. "I summon Straight, Fighting Ogre. Straight's effect reduces the cost of my Human evolution creatures by two, so I evolve him into Masamune Explosion, Drill Ogre!" the red haired kid continued and had the samurai humanoid evolved into a purple skinned humanoid dressed in black pants and sharp golden armor, wielding two long black chains as its weapons. "Go, Masamune Explosion, double break his shields!"

"Thanks, I didn't know you were so generous!" came Blaze's reply after his shields got broken. "Shield trigger, I cast Natural Snare, send Masamune Explosion to your mana zone!"

"Aw crud!" Tamma spat as the vines devoured yet another one of his creatures and granted him two more mana cards. "I end."

A red and white aura came from Blaze's hand as he placed the ninth card in his mana zone. Tamma gulped, expecting the worse to happen.

"Hey kid, did you ever wonder how I could bring creatures into the real world?" the robed duelist excitedly asked.

"Actually I didn't…" the red haired boy rubbed his chin.

"Wow, as if it's so hard to wonder."

"Well it kind of is, I mean… Oh wait; you don't have a Victory card, do you?"

"Bingo, you're not as stupid as everyone gives you credit for!"

"Gee, thanks. Wait, what?!"

"Anyway, it's time to show ya my Victory card – I cast Prelude of Horror and make the next Zero creature I summon cost five mana less! Now behold the awesomeness of the Red Command Dragon leader!"

The dual colored aura around Blaze's hand erupted with power as he put a Zero creature card in the battle zone. A white, purple and golden armored Dragon with two pairs of arms, a long tail, a rainbow colored sword and a long red mane appeared in the arena and shrieked with might. Tamma stared at it with amazement, barely uttering an interjection as his jaw dropped:

"Wow!"

"I summon Kaiser "Demon Fang", Zenith of "Certain Victory"!" Blaze shouted to accompany his Zenith. "When I summon him, we play Hardcore Judge for each of your shields. Whenever I win, I put a Hunter from my hand, mana zone or graveyard into the battle zone."

"That's totally awesome!" Tamma exclaimed with admiration. "Blane would totally love that creature!"

"Hehe, probably. Anyway, you got five shields, so let's do this, Hardcore Judge!"

The top card of Blaze's deck was Balga Raiser, the Dragonic Meteor while the top card of Tamma's deck was Super Explosive Duel Fire. It was 8 VS 6, so Blaze won and got Kokushimuso Kaiser "Sho x Katsu" from his mana zone into the battle zone. Then they played Hardcore Judge again and this time Blaze's top card was Codename Balga Ragon while Tamma's top card was Explodemaru, Careless Ogre. It was 7 VS 8, so this time Tamma won. Yet again they played Hardcore Judge, Blaze getting Shadow Sword "Yagyuu" Dragon and Tamma getting Explode Elephant, Shrewdly Ogre. It was 5 VS 4, so Blaze won yet again and he put Oni Seven "Win", Matchless Amazement from his hand in the battle zone. Then they played Hardcore Judge for the fourth time, Blaze revealing Jasmine, Mist Faerie while Tamma revealed Oningauri, the Legend. It was 2 VS 6, so Tamma won. Afterwards they played Hardcore Judge for the final time, Blaze getting Prelude of Horror and Tamma getting Straight, Fighting Ogre. Even though it was a tie, 3 VS 3, Blaze still won the Hardcore Judge and he evolved Oni Seven "Win" into Yamatahead 8th G, Ultra Warrior from his hand.

"Unbelievable! That was a lot of Hardcore Judge!" Yuu spoke in awe.

"I think I got a fabulous headache trying to follow them…" Atsuto moaned.

"That was incredibly awesome!" Tamma complimented his opponent.

"Thanks, but now it's time to finish the duel." Blaze resumed his turn. "Yamatahead, triple break his shields!"

Heeding the order, the eight headed red armored Dragon spat fires from its entire heads and burned down three of the child's shields.

"Now Kokushimuso Kaiser, break his final shields!" Blaze ordered and the golden and blue armored Dragon swung its sharp disks and slashed off Tamma's last two shields. "Good game, kid, it was nice playing with ya. But now you gotta go home! Cocco Lupia, todo…"

"Now so fast there, pal!" Tamma's voice interrupted him and then a purple armored Humanoid that was armed to the brim appeared behind him and shot the Fire Bird. "Shield trigger activate, I summon Onizou Ambush and give -2000 power to Cocco Lupia, destroying it!"

"Heh, you bought yourself one more turn. Let's see what else you've got."

"With pleasure…"

Now it was Tamma's turn to have a flaming hand, his shining with a darkish red aura as he placed two cards in the battle zone.

"I tap one mana to summon Explodemaru, Careless Ogre. Then I evolve Onizou Ambush into Onimaru "Explosion", Golden Age!"

A bigger humanoid with white hair, a black mask covering his eyes, a dark blue vest, red pants and a golden chainsaw sword appeared in the arena giving a war cry.

"Meet both my avatar and Victory card, Onimaru "Explosion", aka Kasai!" Tamma proudly spoke.

"Heh, nice card ya got there, kid." Blaze uttered.

"Also, Explodemaru is a speed attacker, so now I use him to break your final shield!"

Towards the robed duelist's disappointment, there were no more shield triggers for him.

"You're right; it was indeed a good game." Tamma brought up and received a smile from underneath the cloak. "Kasai, finish him off, todomeda!"

"Alright then!" the Onimaru nodded and jumped at Blaze, hitting him with the sword and throwing both him and his cards a few feet away from the dueling table.

"And the winner is Tamma Gochi!" Yuu announced.

Almost as if coordinated, the crowd cheered ecstatically after such an impressive duel that managed to showcase almost everything that one could ask from the Fire civilization. The former chosen fire duelist looked up and smiled at the sight of his four friends that seemed more than pleased with what they had just seen.

"I knew you could do it, kid." Tiger gave him a slick smile.

"That was one great duel, Tamma-chan!" Pyro added.

"Ah was right, partner, yer a good chip-off-the-ol'-block!" Rita confessed in her accent.

"Heh, good job." Blane gave Tamma a thumb up.

Even though the child could not hear them, he still smiled back at them. Then he closed his eyes for a few moments and envisioned Subaru and Rad to whom he gave thanks.

But Tamma was unaware that on some island far, far away his two idols were on the verge of clashing against each other in yet another duel, and it would not be a friendly one. As usual for kaijudo duels, especially ones in which the duelists owned Victory cards, two dueling tables rose from the ground due to the power of the kaijudo, which was the term used to describe the energy that the duelists channeled through their hands that allowed them to materialize their shields and bring creatures into the real world. Kaijudo in itself was a term invented by American duelists that combined two Japanese words, giving it the meaning of 'the way of the monster'. Subaru found it rather ironic that it sounded like a martial arts term, and yet here he was, about to face a samurai. As the tables slowly rose from the grassy mushroom filled ground, he decided to bring up a discussion in order to stall for time.

"Wasn't the samurai code supposed to be filled with honor and justice stuff?" uttered the black haired teen.

"True." a short response came from his red haired opponent.

"Then where's the honor in using people as training punching bags?"

"Who's to say that I need to follow it?"

"But aren't you a true samurai? Didn't you fight for the Genji?"

"Times have changed. Now I'm just an avenger."

"Must be a pretty sad life, isn't it?"

"You couldn't even imagine…"

"What if I could?" the answer came as a shock to the samurai. "What if I could envision myself go through what you've went?"

"Tsh, as if you know what my pain feels like." an ironic response was shot back at the darkness duelist. "Oh look, the tables are ready, let's start this duel already!"

Trey helped Blaze pack up his cards from the arena's floor. The nature duelist was impressed not as much by the duel as he was by his partner's reaction. Usually Blaze would have been disappointed of losing in such an important event, but the match he had fought against Tamma was all that mattered to him, regardless of the outcome.

"You had fun, didn't you?" Trey whispered.

"You could say that…" Blaze smiled. "What about you? When are you gonna face Tiger?"

"Hopefully in the next round. But now I've got this June guy to defeat."

"Well then, good luck, brother."

Trey nodded to Blaze and proceeded towards the dueling table as the latter went to the arena exit and sat down, watching the match from there. Waiting for him at the other table was a yellow eyed teen dressed in a black tuxedo with a rose in one of its pockets and his black hair wrapped up in a pony tail. The two placed their decks on their respective tables, not saying a word to each other, then they each deployed their shields. To the crowd's disappointment, it seemed that none of them owned a Victory card, which implied that there would be no creature materializing into the arena.

"Duel start!" both players shouted to announce the beginning of their game.

"I charge mana and end my turn." Trey said and placed Dolgazer, Veteran of Hard Battle in his mana zone tapped, granting him both the Water and Nature civilization's mana.

"I charge mana and end." June said and threw Codenight Bouquet Toss in his mana zone, getting only Darkness civilization mana.

"I charge mana and cast Faerie Life." the robed nature duelist continued and thus the number of his mana cards got increased to three.

"I charge mana and cast Faerie Life as well." the tuxedo wearing duelist mimicked his opponent's move.

"Heh, let's see you copy this – I summon Kirino Giant! Now all of my Giants cost up to two less to summon. I end."

"In that case, I'll just cast Lifeplan Charger."

June looked at the top five cards of his deck and then he selected Codenight Congratulation which he then added in his hand. Afterwards he put the Charger spell in his mana zone.

"Hand advantage? I can work with that as well." Trey announced. "I cast Energy Stream and draw two cards. Then I summon Curry Giant."

"My turn, I charge mana and cast Bone Dance Charger." June said and had the top two cards of his deck land in his graveyard, both being Noshire, Fallen Angel of Betrothal, after which he placed the Charger spell in his mana zone as the seventh card. "Then I summon Katchikachi Itchikatchizu."

"Haha, Wild Veggies in a Darkness Angel Command deck? That's rich. Anyway, time to get serious; I summon Binge-Eating Giant! Then I attack with Curry Giant and we play Hardcore Judge!"

The top card of Trey's deck was Codename Hungry Elegance while June's was Codenight Last Propose. 8 VS 7, that meant that Trey won. Then they played again, Trey's top card being Transmogrify and June's being Faerie Life. 3 VS 2, Trey won yet again. Once more they played, Trey's top card being Kirino Giant and June's being Lifeplan Charger. 4 VS 4, it was a tie, but it counted as yet another win for Trey. Then they played for a fourth time, Trey's top card being Intense Vacuuming Twist while June's was Kariisabira, Magical Heaven of Toasting. 4 VS 5, June had finally won.

"Heh, three wins, I now get the top three cards of my deck into my mana zone." Trey spoke grinning. "Now go, Curry Giant, break his shield!"

"Your battle zone is pretty impressive, I must say." June remarked.

"Coming from the guy who couldn't build his own battle zone so far? I don't know if I should take it as a compliment."

"Take it as you want it, but I think it's high time I taught you some manners."

"Oh, manners? Let's see what you've got, tuxedo boy!"

June opened his eyes, the darkish yellow in them staring with malice upon the now surprised Trey.

"My pleasure…" June uttered with a sudden menacing voice as six cards in his mana zone got tapped. "I cast Wedding Gate!"

"Shit." Trey spat.

"With its effect I put Codenight Bouquet Toss and Codenight Congratulation in the battle zone! By Codenight Congratulation's effect I now send one of my shields to the graveyard, and then you'll have to choose two of your creatures and destroy them."

The shield that June had sent to his graveyard was Codenight Star in the Love. Then Trey sent both his Kirino Giant and Curry Giant to his graveyard.

"Codenight Bouquet Toss's effect lets me draw a card since a shield went to the graveyard. Also, since I put two Unknown creatures in the battle zone, with Katchikachi Itchikatchizu's effect I now put Noshire, Fallen Angel of Betrothal and Codenight Engage Ring Double Cross from my mana zone into the shield zone. I end… and also, since the shield that I sent to the graveyard was a Darkness Command creature, I put both my Noshire, Fallen Angel of Betrothal from my graveyard into the battle zone. It's your turn now, pal." June passed with a confident grin.

"I'll wipe that smile off your face!" a now angered Trey threatened. "Using Binge-Eating Giant's effect, I now tap four mana cards and summon Greatest Great, Zenith of "Life"! By its effect I put Pepper Silva of Betrayal from my mana zone to the battle zone. Then I cast Eureka Program and destroy Pepper Silva! By both effects, I put two Truename Megapounder Mack from both my hand and my deck in the battle zone! Then by their effects I send Bouquet Toss and Congratulation to your mana zone along with my Binge-Eating Giant! How'd ya like that, you creep?"

"Oh, so it seems that you do have something left in you. However, this won't be enough."

"What are you yammering about now?"

"Heh, I cast Wedding Gate."

"And what stupid Angel Command could you probably bring out now? You've got just one card left and…"

"I put Codenight Star in the Love in the battle zone!"

"Codenight Star in the Love!" Yuu broke out.

"Indeed, one of the strongest Angel Commands of the Darkness civilization, Star in the Love's removal is comparable to that of Ballcadeias. The only difference is that it also requires the sacrifice of one's entire shield zone." Atsuto analyzed.

"With Star in the Love's effect I put all of my shields to the graveyard. Then, I destroy all other creatures in the battle zone!" June spoke almost possessed to the shocked Trey and then he put all of his six shields into the graveyard and then he watched all creature cards bounce off the battle zone and go into their respective graveyards, with the exception of Star in the Love, who was spared, and Greatest Great, which went back into Trey's hand due to Eternal Omega. "Then, since I put Darkness Commands from my shields into the graveyard, I put all four Noshire, Fallen Angel of Betrothal from my graveyard in the battle zone! I end."

"Amazing comeback from June!" Yuu complimented.

"Though he had lost all of his shields, he managed to hit the reset button on the battle zone and then he raised his own army of Noshire blockers. Impressive!" Atsuto added.

"Grr… this isn't over!" Trey growled. "I cast Energy Stream. Then I cast Faerie Life."

"Ah yes, the basic spells. Suits you well for foolishly sacrificing your mana, I daresay. Anyway, I cast Lifeplan Charger." June arrogantly spoke and then he gained an eight mana and Codenight Last Propose in his hand after which he ended.

"I summon Kirino Giant and Manner Giant. Hardcore Judge!" the robed duelist shouted and revealed his top card – Intense Vacuuming Twist, which was rivaled by June's Wedding Gate. "Darn it, I lost Hardcore Judge!"

"Too bad, you won't be sending any of my creatures to the mana zone soon. Oh well, I summon Codenight Last Propose." the tuxedo duelist calmly did his turn.

"I summon Dolgazer, Veteran of Hard Battle. Since I got three Giants in the battle zone, I draw three cards. Then I cast Eureka Program and destroy Manner Giant!"

The top card of Trey's deck was Zondag Giant, which replaced Manner Giant.

"I think it's time I put you out of your misery." June declared with a rather bored tone in his voice. "I summon Katchikachi Itchikatchizu. Then I attack with Codenight Star in the Love and Last Propose, break all of his shields!"

Two purple energy waves came from the two cards and pushed all five cards from Trey's shield zone in to his hand. Sadly for him, he had gotten no shield trigger and none of the cards in his hand could save him from his impending doom.

"I summon Codename Hungry Elegance…" he barely spoke.

"I expected more. Oh well, it just shows you how one simple mass removal can screw one's entire plans." June commented. "Anyway, I summon Codenight June Bride and with Katchikachi Itchikatchizu's effect I put Jasmine, Mist Faerie from my mana zone into the shield zone. Codenight Star in the Love, todomeda!"

"It seems that I won't be facing you too soon, Tiger." a disappointed Trey thought.

A purple energy wave hit him and threw both the robed duelist and his cards away.

"Winner, June Seya!" Yuu declared.

As Blaze rushed to help his defeated partner, June packed his cards, turned around and headed back to the last level of the arena where his guys were waiting. While climbing the stairs he ignored all the crowd's cheers and just turned his head slightly to see Blane's group that was giving him odd stares. He smiled a little at their reaction, happy to see that they perceived him as a challenge. Upon reaching the final level, June nodded as his buddies congratulated him, and then he kneeled in front of Roger, who was playing Vivaldi's summer on his piano, even if the concerto was intended for violins.

"I assured my place in the semifinals, Roger-sama." June announced.

"Good. Now you have free time to search for some Zero cards." Roger reminded him.

"Oh, but I have already done some research, master. Here, let me show you my catch."

Roger did not even turn to look at his minion, but June got up and tossed two cards that landed on the piano's keys. The pianist's cold green eyes got stuck for a moment on them. The two cards were those of Greatest Great, Zenith of "Life" and Radio Roses, Zenith of "Intelligence".

"Two Zeniths… Good job, June." he passively spoke.

"Thank you, master." June humbly replied.

Returning to the island, the duel on the mushroom valley was about to begin. Both Subaru and the samurai had their decks ready on the tables, their shields set up and each had drawn five cards. Now all they needed was for one of them to make a move.

"Since I'm feeling generous today, I'm letting you start first." the samurai affirmed and waited for his opponent to make a move. "Well? Didn't you hear me? I said that you can start first."

"Oh right, sorry." a rather worried Subaru spoke in a nutshell. "I was just thinking…"

"Nothing new here. What were you thinking of?"

"I was thinking of you."

That last sentence made the samurai blush under his mask and quickly respond:

"No thanks, I'm not gay!"

"Haha, not in that way, silly." Subaru laughed.

"Then what were you thinking? And it better not be anything creepy." the now even more worried warrior spoke in return.

"I was thinking about your life and everything you've gone through… Rad."

Upon hearing his real name, the samurai began to sweat nervously. He then recalled that night in which the demonic Subaru unmasked him. How much he wished that the darkness duelist would have forgotten about that. That was it, his worst fears came true and things would only get more complicated from that point on.

* * *

_Blaze(finishes his soda): Yeah, we pretty much took a beating…_

_Trey(finishes his candy bar): And we also failed Black Widow-sama and Raven-sama by failing out of the tournament…_

_Blaze: But hey, it could've been worse! It's not like that Roger guy is putting his plan to action, now is?_

_Trey: Why do I get the feeling that this is going on as we speak? (sweats)_

_Blaze: Oh well, hope that was entertaining enough for you guys. See you! (waves hand)_

* * *

_[In the next chapter]:_

_The second round of the tournament concludes with the duels between Blane and Ren as well as Roger and Tiger. Can our heroes be able to stop these two menaces before the pianist's secret plan is being unfolded?_

.


	15. The second round concludes

_Roger (playing Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 24): What more is there to say?_

* * *

The Doctor happily hummed old forgotten songs of the Time Lords as he was trying to fix the main engine of the TARDIS. Even though not many lights were on and the darkish cold atmosphere of the time traveling machine was rather disturbing, that did not stop him from enjoying his work. He began connecting the wires for what seemed to be like the nine hundred and twenty third thousand seven hundred and forty second time, though he may have underestimated, not having managed to calculate all the damages that the Dalek ships had caused it, which should have amounted to at least a few hundred. In those moments that he spent with the TARDIS, his true and longest companion through time and space that knew all his pains and anguishes, he could think of nothing more than the passing of time and all things that it brought: adventures, needs, aging… He tried to forget about the latter, as it would remind him of his previous assistants, and the last thing he wanted was to consider the fact that Subaru would share the same fate as them. If there was one thing that the Doctor truly despised, that was having to say good bye.

The brown haired man closed his eyes and sighed. He had swept himself into those thoughts that he forgot his mission of repairing the TARDIS and going after the witch. Mentally slapping himself back to reality, he resumed his work. A few moments later he heard steps on the metallic floor that were approaching the main computer of the time machine. Thinking it was one of the boys, he spoke in a familiar voice:

"Oh, you've already finished your duel? Great, hurry up and give me the screwdriver!"

"Good morning to you too, Doctor." a teenage girl's voice responded, taking him by surprise and making him peek to see who it was.

"You must be that girl!" the Doctor exclaimed. "I think you were called Fiona?"

"It's Leona." the blonde light duelist wearing a short golden dress affirmed and crossed her arms as she watched the bowtie man get up and dust himself.

"Ah yes, yes, you're that cat girl. How did you get here?"

"That's my little secret. However, I have come here to deliver you a message from my master, Tabitha-sama."

"What does that cranky witch want now from me?"

"Nothing more than to meet you once again. She has invited you to her castle and I think it wouldn't be nice of you to ignore her, you know?"

"I see. But how does she expect me to get to where she is when my TARDIS doesn't work and I don't know where exactly that castle of hers had crashed?"

"Interesting, you seem to know that our castle has crashed."

"In the volcano, I might add."

"Not like I care to know how you found out about our castle. Listen, I don't have time for chit chats, just take this." the blonde tossed a scroll to the Doctor. "It's a spell that will take us and the TARDIS to Tabitha-sama's castle. Now hurry up, open it and read it."

"But what about the boys?" the Doctor asked.

"Oh don't worry, they'll find their way to the castle, after all you told them where it crashed." Leona assured him. "Now just read the damn thing!"

Meanwhile outside, as the samurai and Subaru were about to deploy their shields, the masked warrior was still displeased by the fact that his opponent knew of his identity, despite the trouble he went through to hide it from him. Now the pesky annoying questions that he was trying to avoid were about to shower him like an unwanted sudden summer rain.

"What happened? How did you survive?" Subaru asked, trying his best to keep himself calm.

"If I knew, I'd thank whatever rescued me." the samurai shortly responded.

"But how did you end up in Feudal Japan out of all places? Did you even remember us? If you were trying to avoid me, that must mean that you did." the black haired hypothesized.

"Listen, I've just had a couple of dreams and memories with you guys, but that's about it. If it weren't for you and the Doctor coming, I never would've remembered who I was. But that's all in the past now." concluded the fire duelist and with a wave of his right arm he made his five teal rectangular shields materialize.

"Huh? What do you mean by that, Rad-kun?"

"It means that Rad is dead for all you and everyone else cares! Now stop delaying and let's get this duel started already!"

But just then they both heard strange noises coming from behind the samurai. The two looked at the source of the noise and had the shock of seeing the TARDIS being enveloped by a dark aura and disappear into thin air.

"Oh no, Doctor!" Subaru shouted and was about to run from his table.

"Stay where you are!" the samurai screamed back at him and pulled out his sword. "I mean it, Subaru, stay at your dueling table if you care about yourself."

"But the Doctor…"

"We'll worry about him later; now let's start this goddamn duel already! And trust me, one more word to stall it and you'll get to know this sword better from the inside."

Sighing, Subaru waved his left hand and made five blue shields materialize above him as well, thus beginning their match.

Meanwhile, back at the city, at the tournament arena another duel was about to start. The second round resumed with the duel between Blane and Ren. The crowd was attentively watching the showdown, expecting great entertainment. Atsuto and Yuu were both lying on their chairs with their microphones in their hands ready for a commentary when necessary. As for Blane and Ren, even though their cards were set, they simply looked each other in the eye without saying a thing. While most people were simply fascinated by the dual colored eyes of the swordsman, Ren seemed to not mind them at all.

"That stare…" the white haired boy reflected.

"What?" the brown haired one replied.

"It reminds me a lot of a certain guy."

"Not that I'm really interested, but out of curiosity, who?"

"Oh just a duelist that owns a certain creature known as Dorballom."

Blane immediately realized of what his opponent was talking and for a moment his face betrayed a sense of surprise that satisfied Ren.

"Your eyes might be different, but for some reason you have the same desire for a duel and fierce look in them. You must enjoy this game quite a lot."

"And what if I do, Sherlock?" the long haired male fought back.

"Oh nothing, let's see how much your joy will last after I finish you off in this match." Ren affirmed and took a better look at Blane's hand that was surrounded by a red aura. "Tsh, a Dragon user, your kind disgust me. Always going with Cocco Lupia and Bolshack NEX and throwing random useless crap. Boy, will it be a pleasure crushing you."

"Less talk and more dueling, please."

With that Blane raised his shields and began the match. He began by putting Bolbalzak Ex tapped in his mana zone. Ren did the same with a Lord Reis, Spirit of Wisdom. Then Blane put Magmadragon Balga Geyser in his mana zone, tapped both cards and showed a rainbow spell while saying:

"I cast Mendelssohn."

The top two cards of his deck were Balga Raiser, the Dragonic Meteor and Eternal Meteor Kaiser, both of which went into his mana zone tapped. The mana acceleration was pretty impressive, but Ren did not show signs of caring. He simply drew a card, placed Hatchaki in his mana zone tapped and ended.

"I fortify one of my shields with Hustle Castle." Blane said and the image of a green card depicting a panda castle appeared on his further to left shield.

"I see, you wish to draw cards. Guess I will do the same." Ren affirmed and showed a Water spell. "I cast Aquan Jr.'s Delivery."

The top three cards of his deck were Perfect Madonna, Light Weapon, HEIKE Double Cross, Spirit of Gaga and Alcadeias, Lord of Spirits, all of which went into his hand.

"Remember that combo that you mocked? Well dude, let me show you how much it sucks." Blane ironically stated. "I summon Bolshack NEX and by its effect I put Cocco Lupia in the battle zone!"

A red dragon with silver horns, big wings, fire hands, white armor and a long red and white tail that had a zig zag separating the two colors appeared in the arena along with a red fire bird with a small crown on her head.

"Also, thanks to Hustle Castle, I draw two cards. I end." Blane smiled.

"Heh, let me show you how pathetic you are." Ren arrogantly spoke. "I cast Miraculous Snare and send Cocco Lupia to your shields. "

A blue aura surrounded the fire bird and made it disappear, granting Blane a sixth shield.

"Heh, this party's just begun." the swordsman replied confidently. "Time to heat things up – I summon Ogre Warrior Kaiser "Win"!"

A golden dragon that shined with the glory of the rising sun appeared behind Blane, at its chest it held an orb, one that gave it great power as a command dragon and the creature was also holding two shield-like disks both shaped like arrows and its blue wings were made of electricity. Then its owner gained another card in his hand due to Hustle Castle.

"Yes, the blocker hating Dragon, I seem to recall him." Ren commented. "Still, he's not as good as Genji Double Cross or Crystal Super Paladin."

"He's good enough." Blane reassured.

"In that case, let's see him defeat my Perfect Madonna."

A pink winged Viking looking female creature with its lower body parts a white sphere with a sharp toothed mouth appeared as a hologram by Ren's side of the battle zone.

"Getting your blockers out, huh? I guess it's time to finish you off – I summon Balga Raiser, the Dragonic Meteor!" Blane said and a fire winged black armored dragon wielding two swords emerged. "I attack with Balga Raiser and reveal the top card of my deck."

The top card was none other than Bolshack Cross NEX, and the creature – a red giant horned Armored Dragon – appeared as well, joining the army of fiery reptiles. Balga Raiser then used its sword to take down two of Ren's shields, but he did not seem to mind at all.

"Bolshack Cross NEX, break his final shields!" Blane ordered and in a few moments his opponent was rendered shield less by his Dragon.

"Shield trigger activate." Ren calmly spoke. "I cast Heaven's Gate and I put HEIKE Double Cross, Spirit of Gaga and Knights of Cobalt, Spirit of Protean in the battle zone."

The holographic images of a golden angel with two spear shields and of a blue armored angel with yellow burning flames in its sharp hands appeared. Blane simply smirked and tapped the Victory card on his table, declaring:

"I attack with Ogre Warrior Kaiser "Win", now let's play us some Hardcore Judge!"

"Heh, very well, Hardcore Judge it is." Ren replied and revealed the top card of his deck along with Blane.

The white haired duelist had Mil Armor, Mecha King Vizier while the brown haired duelist had Mach Lupia.

"It's 3 VS 4, I won. Now my creature gets +6000 power and you'll have to choose and destroy one of your blockers!" Blane excitedly explained.

"I choose… Perfect Madonna. And since her power was not reduced to 0, she stays in the battle zone." Ren stuck his tongue out arrogantly.

"What?!"

"Exactly."

"Then let's play Hardcore Judge again!"

"As you wish."

Once again they revealed the top cards, Ren getting Orochi, of the Hidden Blade and Blane getting Eternal Meteor Kaiser.

"6 VS 8, I won again. Destroy one of your bl…"

"I choose Madonna and she stays." Ren interrupted him. "Hahaha, keep playing Hardcore Judge, I'll just keep picking Madonna."

"Why you little…" Blane growled annoyed. "Ogre Warrior Kaiser, finish him off, todomeda!"

"Block the attack, Perfect Madonna."

The holographic Viking Alien got in the way of the golden dragon's attack and blocked the disc shields from touching her master. The dragon retreated and Blane analyzed the situation better. Ren still had two powerful blockers that would stop his Bolshack NEX. That meant he would just have to wait until his next turn and hope his opponent would not bring more blockers out. The biggest pain was that his Ogre Warrior Kaiser's effect could not rid him of the hindrances.

"I think it is my turn." Ren spoke and drew his next card. "In that case, I guess I will charge mana and cast Panic Room. I send Bolshack Cross NEX to your shields and then break another shield of yours."

"No, Bolshack Cross NEX!" Blane exclaimed as he watched his mighty Dragon disappear and turn into a shield while another got broken. "Grr… shield trigger, I cast Faerie Life!"

The top card of his deck that went into the mana zone was Magmadragon Balga Raiser.

"And now I attack Balga Raiser with Knights of Cobalt, Spirit of Protean and send the top card of your deck to the graveyard." Ren said and was delighted when he saw that the card was Bolshack NEX. "Good, now Knights of Cobalt gets +7000 power and destroys Balga Raiser."

A wave came from Ren's card and pierced through the black armored dragon's body, making it explode.

"Then HEIKE Double Cross suicides with Ogre Warrior Kaiser and I end here." Ren concluded and watched how another wave hit Blane's golden dragon and made it explode as well while his creature's hologram disappeared and both cards bounced off the battle zones into their respective graveyards.

Now it was all or nothing. Either Blane would finish Ren off quickly, or he would fill his battle zone with more blockers and stall for time until his finisher Alphadios would come out. Everything had to be decided in that turn while there was just one blocker to protect him. That meant that the next card had to be a good one, or else he was done for.

"Come on, give me a good one." Blane thought and before placing his hand on the top card of the deck, he put it in his pocket and looked at a purple token with the Darkness civilization that shone for a split second, after which his own hand got surrounded by both red and purple auras. "Thank you…"

Without even looking, Blane took the card and put it in the battle zone, causing a quadruped blue armored dragon with a flame sword in its tail appear in the arena and screech at Ren.

"Eternal Meteor Kaiser… he makes all your creatures speed attackers, including himself." Ren remarked.

"And you know what that means." Blane replied and tapped a card on his table. "Bolshack NEX, todomeda!"

"Perfect Madonna, block."

The dragon flew towards Ren, ready to hit him with its flaming hands, but the image of the Viking Alien stood in its way.

"Then Eternal Meteor Kaiser for the win." Blane continued and tapped his other card.

"Don't even think about it – Ninja Strike 4, I summon Falconer, Lightfang Ninja and turn him into a blocker!" Ren said and the image of a plane like creature appeared for a moment only to have it fall and disappear. "Falconer, blo… Huh? What?"

"Oh, you forgot a little detail about Eternal Meteor Kaiser, pal. He puts all your creatures in the battle zone tapped, your Falconer blocker included."

"This can't be!" the white haired panicked.

"Eternal Meteor Kaiser, todomeda!" his opponent gave the final attack.

The dragon flew towards Ren and before he knew it he was hit by the flaming sword and thrown away along with his Light cards.

"And the winner is Blane Kaminaga!" Yuu announced, his words being like a startle for the crowd to go wild.

"Heh, guess this Dragon user is not too shabby, you bastard." Blane triumphantly spoke to Ren and walked away from his dueling table.

"He defeated Ren…" a surprised Roger uttered while stopping playing his piano.

"Sir, but that's impossible…" Nick added in disbelief.

"Well it pretty much happened, so I guess it is possible, dumb one." Jessica ironically replied to the tall man.

"I will go get him." June suggested and rushed down the stairs.

"Blane Kaminaga… you will pay for this." Roger maliciously spoke and got up from his seat, both gloves radiating powerfully with kaijudo energy.

"The final duel of today and of this round is between Tiger King and Roger Thornton." Atsuto's suave voice was heard in the arena's loud speakers.

"That is your call, boss!" Humpty intervened.

"Show that pussy cat how a pro duels!" Dumpty cheered as well.

"Oh do not worry, fellows, I will surely will." the pianist reassured his minions and graciously descended the stairs.

While approaching the first level of the arena where his match would take place, Roger enjoyed the sounds of people's murmurs as they all recalled him totally decimating his previous opponent with his King Command Dragons. The terrified sounds of their voices brought true delight to him. Then the fateful moment came. Roger stopped a few steps above the row where Blane's gang lied and he locked eyes with the one that defeated his right hand man. He read the determination and fierceness from Blane's eyes, while the other could see nothing but coldness in those deep green eyes.

"So you must be Blane Kaminaga." Roger struck up a conversation.

"Yeah, and you're the piano creep that somehow is Rita's brother." Blane commented.

"Ah yes, so you are friends with my sister. This already tells me a lot about you."

"Oh really? Well in that case, mister uptight, let's see you handle this next duel."

"Don't you worry, it will be a pleasure."

And with those words being said, Roger walked grinning, passing Blane, and resuming his path to the dueling table. The swordsman looked at him with disgust and then he spoke loud enough to be heard by him:

"Tiger will kick your sorry ass to kingdom come!"

Even though Blane could not see it, Roger chuckled upon hearing those words.

"What a jerk." the brown haired commented and sat at his place.

"Ah know, partner, Ah know." Rita replied. "That's just him, rotten to the core."

"He seems rather cold and uncaring to me, but not truly rotten." Pyro affirmed.

"Well ya haven't lived with him for your whole life, now have you?" the sister turned to him.

"Oh, sorry."

"What happened to him? Was he always like this?" Tamma asked.

"No, not always, partner." the red haired cowgirl reflected. "When we were kids he was just a farm kid like me. He was sweet, kind, he cared for his sister and wanted to just duel and have fun. He pretty much was a carefree little boy. Back then our parents could barely distinguish us not because we were looking alike, but because we acted alike. Haha, Ah even remember that at one of my birthday parties he gave me his King Command Dragons as a present. Ah was so happy. Everything was great in our lives. But then…"

"Then?" an interested Blane repeated.

"Then one night while he was carrying away the dung with a shovel, he found something. Roger came in the house with a white glove that had a strange symbol on it and with a strange Victory card. Soon Ah found out that it was Beethoven, Zenith of "Horror". And soon I also realized that my brother had changed. He was growing colder from us and he was much more interested in playing on our old piano and researching on something known as the Zero civilization. Ah didn't even know that such cards even existed. Then when we became teens he had bought his own piano with the money he saved in his piggy bank and one day he brought home a bunch of strange people who he said were his new friends. Before Ah knew it, they were causing trouble in our village, dueling people, stealing cards, causing fights in bars and so on. The Sheriff had to put him in jail and send his buddies away. When we bailed him out, he didn't want to talk to any of us and that night he disappeared from our farm, taking the money with him. That was what made me go and join Tigra back then. Ah needed money for my family's farm and Ah hoped to find my brother. Once THEM was destroyed and Ah had enough money to send to the farm, Ah kept searching for him. It was easier than Ah thought. There was this news on Yahoo about a pianist stealing people's cards and that was all Ah needed to track him down. When Ah found him, he was singing up for the tournament along with his old buddies, so Ah did the same. And that's the whole story."

"I see." Blane nodded. "In that case, let's see how Tiger can handle him."

"Ah hope he's careful, Roger is so not the guy to mess with."

Roger elegantly arranged his hair and then he took a look at his hands, admiring the beauty of his gloves. His cards had long been set and Tiger was having a hard time thinking that the one facing him was the same individual that had brutally defeated the kid from the previous round. Either way, he had to be cautious, for he did not know what surprises the mysterious pianist had in store for him. Having finished shuffling his deck, Tiger placed it on his dueling table and set up his shields.

"Are you finally ready?" Roger asked with clear boredom in his voice.

"Don't worry; I was just doing my warming." Tiger replied and deployed his shields. "Let's get this party started."

"I would not really consider this a party, but sure, let us begin."

Roger's shields had materialized as well and their duel had started. Each began by charging mana with a multicolored card – Roger with Codeking Mozart and Tiger with Quatro Fang, Burning Soul.

"I cast Faerie Life." Roger said and he got a Trueking Viola Sonata next to Codeking Mozart and Necrodragon Odol Needle.

"Good idea, I'll also cast that." Tiger replied and he got Blazing Tiger, Crimson Lord next to Quatro Fang, Burning Soul and Jin, the Ogre Blade ~Young Leader~.

"Then I cast Mendelssohn."

The top two cards of Roger's deck were Necrodragon Abayo Shabayo and Chopin, Dragon King, both of which landed in Roger's mana zone tapped.

"I charge mana and end."

"I charge mana and cast another Faerie Life." Roger continued and also gained Cocco Lupia in his mana zone. "I end."

"Lots of mana accel. Hope you don't mind me trying to catch up." Tiger affirmed. "I summon Iron Arm Tribe."

A white haired red caped blue horse warrior wielding a club appeared by Tiger's side and made the top card of his deck to into the mana zone, after which he ended his turn.

"Why I do not mind at all. In fact, I will help us both." Roger said and showed a multicolored card. "I summon Mitsurugi Boost, Matchless Dragon Demon. By its effect I send it to my mana zone and destroy Iron Arm Tribe, which goes to your mana zone as well."

A black horned green winged red armored Dragon wielding a red flame sword and a flaming red cannon appeared and shot the horse warrior, making it disappear, then the Dragon itself got surrounded by a green aura and disappeared, both cards landing in their owners' mana zones.

"I summon Moel Go, Explosive Oni Princess." Tiger said and a red caped humanoid girl wielding two samurai swords and riding a boat that was equipped with missiles appeared in the arena and gave him a Great Hercules, Giant Insect from his deck into his hand.

"Ah, you plan on evolving Moel Go into Great Hercules next turn, I see." Roger remarked and took a look at the seven cards in his opponent's mana zone. "How sweet. Unfortunately for you, I cannot allow such a thing to happen."

Roger's left hand glowed with purple, red and green auras as he drew his next card. Smiling, he placed it in the battle zone and made a green armored red headed dragon that had purple wings and was wielding a sharp electrical staff, appear in the arena.

"I summon Codeking Wilhelm!" Roger exclaimed. "With its effect I destroy Moel Go and send Quatro Fang, Burning Soul from your mana zone to the graveyard. But wait, there is more, because every time a card is put in your graveyard, I get the top card of my deck into my mana zone, so I now gain two more mana cards!"

"Oh I'm such deep crap now." Tiger sweated as he watched how his creature got destroyed, how he lost a mana card and how his opponent gained two mana cards.

"Now it is your turn."

"I summon Silver Shovel and send both it and Wilhelm to our mana zones."

A black rodent wearing sunglasses and dressed in white appeared in the battle zone and hit Roger's Dragon with its shovel, causing both of them to get surrounded by green auras and disappear, their cards going to their owners' mana zones. Then the pianist's turn came and now his right hand shined with a white aura. When he drew his next card, ten out of eleven cards in his mana zone tapped themselves and he placed what he drew in his battle zone tapped and spoke:

"Witness the true magnificence of music! I summon Beethoven, Zenith of "Horror"!"

A giant blue armored dragon wielding a sharp golden spear shield in its left hand and a golden shield shaped after the sol key in its right hand. Codeking Mozart, Mitsurugi Boost, Matchless Dragon Demon and Necrodragon Abayo Shabayo returned from Roger's mana zone to his hand and then his top three cards landed in their place, those being Mendelssohn, Cocco Lupia and Chopin, Dragon King.

"That's not good." Tiger commented.

"Want more bad? Whenever your creatures attack, they must attack my Beethoven." Roger added. "Let's see what you will do now, for I end here."

"You want a challenge, you creep? You've just found it – I summon Yattare Pippi and evolve it into Great Hercules, Giant Insect!"

A dark blue giant beetle appeared behind Tiger and screeched.

"I attack with Great Hercules and put Silver Shovel from my mana zone in the battle zone. I send Silver Shovel back to my mana zone and your Beethoven to the mana zone as well!"

"Eternal Omega, Beethoven returns to my hand instead." Roger intervened as his creature disappeared and took the card into his hand.

"Great Hercules, double break his shields!" Tiger ordered and the beetle slashed two of Roger's shields in half.

"Shield trigger… I summon not one, but two Necrodragon Odol Needle."

Two red winged blue skinned spiked dragons that both had two heads appeared by Roger's side of the battle field. The pianist then began his turn by drawing a card, charging mana and placing two creatures in the battle zone.

"I summon Necrodragon Abayo Shabayo and Mitsurugi Boost, Matchless Dragon Demon. I shall destroy Abayo Shabayo and Great Hercules." Roger said and gladly watched how both creatures blew up. "Then I break two of your shields with both my Necrodragon Odol Needle, ike!"

"Argh!" Tiger growled as the shield shards hit him. "You bastard…"

"Hey, I am just doing what I am supposed to do. No hard feelings."

"Tsh, hard feelings…"

"Anyway, it is your turn."

The calm and slight arrogance in Roger's voice were beginning to annoy Tiger. Still, he had to find a way to make it through to the victory. But with the pianist popping out Dragons all the time it was really difficult. Still, he had to use whatever he had.

"I summon Iron Arm Tribe." the blonde got another white haired blue horse warrior out that brought him a new card in his mana zone. "Then I summon Silver Shovel and send both Silver Shovel and Necrodragon Odol Needle to the mana zone." he continued and the rodent creature hit one of the two spiky dragons, making both become mana crystals.

"I see, so the cat still is up for a fight. It's so sad you are still overpowered." Roger spat at him. "I summon Trueking Viola Sonata!"

A horned red maned orange Dragon appeared in the battle zone and lashed at the poor defenseless horse warrior, killing it. Its card landed in Tiger's mana zone and then a bone dragon with six black wings and chains around its body appeared by Roger's side.

"With Viola Sonata's effect I destroy your Iron Arm Tribe and revive my Abayo Shabayo. Now I shall end here, mister Tiger." Roger faked respect for his opponent.

All of a sudden, the nature duelist felt something. A pulse came from his deck. Could it be? Was the card that would save him coming? He had to find out one way, by drawing. Indeed, the card erupted with a strong green light and a smile of hope made its way on his face. He put the card on his table and announced his opponent:

"You're going down now! I summon Jin, the Ogre Blade ~Young Leader~!"

A giant blue armored white wolf warrior wielding a green sword appeared in the battle zone and howled a war cry.

"By its effect I put two Iron Arm Tribe, two Silver Shovel and even evolve an Iron Arm Tribe into Quatro Fang, Super Gang Leader!" Tiger said and an army of Nature Hunters appeared as well, heeding their leader's call. "The Iron Arm Tribe will give me two more mana cards, then I use Silver Shovel's effects to send them both back to the mana zone along with two of your creatures."

"I pick Abayo Shabayo and Mitsurugi Boost."

"Then with Quatro Fang's effect I get one more mana card. Now I shall attack with…"

"With nobody!" Roger interrupted him. "Don't you know the effect of your own cards? Jin puts all those Nature Hunters in your mana zone tapped. They cannot attack."

"Shit!" Tiger spat. "I… I'll end."

"Hahaha, you actually thought you had a chance? How pathetic you are. And now to fully crush your hopes…"

Eleven cards tapped themselves in Roger's mana zone and then a multicolored card belonging to the Darkness, Fire and Nature civilizations was put on his battle zone, causing a giant black dragon dressed in a sharp black and golden armor with purple spears at its edges appear in the battle zone and destroy all of Tiger's creatures with just one ball of flame that was spat from its mouth.

"What is that…" Tiger mumbled with his jaw dropped.

"I summon Codeking Mozart." Roger coldly spoke. "Then I attack with Trueking Viola Sonata, triple break!"

In the next moment Tiger found himself shield less and with nothing to do in order to save himself. But then something happened that shocked everyone.

"I end my turn." Roger passed.

"What?!" Yuu exclaimed.

"Mister Roger Thornton is refusing to give the final attack?" Atsuto added.

"But why?" Rita asked Blane, who was getting more nervous for his friend.

"I don't know, at least he has one more chance." the brown haired one murmured with fear.

"I… I summon… Bronze-Arm Tribe, Yattare Pippi and Jasmine, Mist Faerie." Tiger spoke and one by one, the small creatures came forth, facing the mighty Dragons of his opponent. "I end." he sighed, for he knew he had lost.

"Yes, despair, feel it fully." Roger greedily spoke. "You deserve every bit of it, Tiger King, the former chosen nature duelist."

"You… how do you know?"

"Let's say that I have my connections. Oh, vengeance is sweet."

Roger turned to Blane and gave him a malicious smile as he said the following warning:

"Defeating my right hand man was the worst thing you could have done. Now witness how your friend falls to my hands. And let this be a warning to those who dare to rise against me!"

"No!" Blane shouted and got up from his chair.

"Codeking Mozart, todomeda!" Roger gave the order.

What followed next was a great explosion that filled the whole arena. When the smoke cleared, Blane saw Tiger lying with his jacket burnt off, his body bleeding and his cards scattered all around the arena. Roger had packed up his deck and was rubbing his hands while walking victoriously away from the arena.

"This can't be…" Blane murmured and then he shouted. "Tiger!"

As the swordsman and his friends rushed down to the aid of their defeated friend, the two hosts introduced the new data into the computer and then Yuu gave the obvious announcement:

"And the winner is Roger Thornton!"

"With this the second round of the Duel Masters tournament concludes." Atsuto added. "See you next time."

There was no ending speech, no encouragement, nothing whatsoever. What had happened was too shocking for such lighted words. Once the two left their places, they immediately ran to the lower side of the arena, joining Blane and the rest. On their way Atsuto also called the infirmary for aid.

The wind blew against the black hair of Subaru. He looked at his opponent who was more determined than ever. The shields were raised, the cards were drawn, the match had finally started. The samurai put Red Scorpion, Electro-mech in his mana zone and ended his turn.

"Huh? What about me going first?" his opponent asked.

"You snooze, you lose." the red haired warrior coldly replied.

Gulping, Subaru drew his top card, placed Maxval, Electro-Fuuma in his mana zone and ended.

"At long last, the duel I've been waiting for." the samurai thought. "This time I'll beat him."

* * *

_Roger (finishes Beethoven's Symphony No. 9): This is the sound of victory._

* * *

_[In the next chapter]:_

_The Doctor arrives at Tabitha's castle and is invited to join the witch at supper. Blane visits Tiger at the hospital and reflects upon everything that had happened at the tournament. Meanwhile, Subaru and the samurai have a duel of epic proportions, to settle once and for all who is better. Which one of our two heroes will be able to prevail in the end?_


	16. The duel without a victory

_Subaru (staring at a card): Is it worth it?_

* * *

With another round of the tournament being gone, Roger and his team retreated in a luxurious hotel not far away from the building where the matches took place earlier that day. Now with the assured entrance of their master in the next round, the minions could finally relax. Jessica was taking a shower, Nick was working out pumping irons, Humpty was greedily devouring a hot dog, Dumpty was watching television and June was taking care of the wounded Ren who lied on the bed. Roger was improvising piano melodies that were energetic and uplifting, suiting his mood after his recent win.

The elevator's bell rang and its doors opened, revealing the short and fat silhouette of Campo who proudly proceeded in the room where his fellow teammates were resting. Roger barely turned an eye to him, paying more attention to his instrument.

"Roger-sama, I bring you good news." Campo kneeled in front of his master.

"I am listening." the red haired pianist replied without even turning his head to him.

"I brought you these, master."

Two Zero cards were tossed and both landed on the keys of the piano. Roger stopped playing to take a better look at them and saw that they were Maximum the Max, Zenith of the "Military" and Battle the Climax, Zenith of "Victory".

"Excellent job, Campo. You have made up for your mistake of losing in the tournament." Roger complimented the little chubby boy, making his other minions rather jealous. "As for the rest of you, I do hope you don't plan upon simply waiting for next week when the semifinals begin, now do you?"

"Of course not, boss!" Nick intervened with worry.

"Good, then move your lazy rears out there and find more Zero cards!"

Just when he finished his sentence, Jessica rushed out of the bathroom fully dressed and went into the elevator saying:

"I'll get you some cards, boss!"

"Hey, how come she gets to impress the big guy?!" Humpty complained.

"We'll get him some Zero cards first, you cheater!" Dumpty added and both twins ran into the elevator as well.

"Wait for me!" Nick exclaimed and followed the other three.

After the elevator's doors closed and it began to descend, June sighed and turned to his master.

"You do know that there are a lot of Zero cards out there, right?"

"I know, June. That is precisely why I need those slackers to act quickly. The end of the years will come quicker than any of you thinks, so there is not much time left. We have to get all Zero cards until then, or else everything we have done so far was for nothing."

"But still, Roger-sama, you know that there are certain Zero cards that are in the ownership of just one certain person, and those people are rather strong duelists. Do you think that we are able to face against them?"

"You never know until you try. And besides, if you guys cannot handle them, then this is where I come in. Because sometimes if you want to have a job done, it's better if it's done by yourself."

June nodded and then he resumed taking care of his wounded comrade while Roger resumed playing his piano.

At the island's mushroom valley, the long awaited duel between the samurai and Subaru finally was taking place. Since they were at the beginning stages of the match, both were building up their fields the way they knew best.

"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy her." the samurai said and gained a card in his mana zone.

"I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy her." Subaru said and made his opponent discard a card.

"I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe." the golden masked duelist continued and got another card in his mana zone.

"I cast Energy Stream." the black haired duelist said and the top two cards of his deck floated in the air and landed in his hand.

"I cast Hyperspatial Shooting Hole."

The red colored card shined and caused a hole to appear in the air out of which a red armored dragon wielding two yellow flaming swords descended into the battle zone.

"I put Gaial Kaiser in the battle zone and since he's a speed attacker, I now double break your shields!" the red haired one spoke in a nutshell and his dragon immediately heeded his order and quickly took down two of the opponent's shields. "Then Bronze-Arm Tribe, break his shield!"

But the green horse like warrior could never make it to the shields, for a plane like creature stood in its way and even destroyed him. The samurai looked better at his opponent and saw him tossing a Light card to the bottom of his deck.

"Ninja Strike 4, I summon Falconer, Lightfang Ninja and block Bronze-Arm Tribe." Subaru explained. "My turn, I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma and end."

"Heh, now that we've set our grounds, it's time for the real fun to begin." the masked warrior uttered in reply.

Back in the city, rain has fallen upon it after the second round ended, almost as if the sky was mourning the outcome of its last duel. Inside the hospital, Blane, Tamma and Rita were sitting in the waiting room with their fingers crossed for their fallen friend. Due to a certain appointment, Pyro had to leave. As for Atsuto and Yuu, they had to give an interview regarding the tournament, so they could not stay with them either. And so the hours went by, the tension was growing high, the impatience was becoming unbearable and they could hardly resist storming into the operation room. After what seemed like an eternity, a doctor walked out.

"Finally!" Blane shouted while getting up. "How is it, doc?"

"Is Tiger alright?" Tamma added.

"Please say yes." Rita begged.

"I am afraid that your friend has suffered severe damage." the doctor spoke with a pessimistic voice that caused the three of them to gain frowns. "We have barely managed to stabilize him. His chances of survival are slim, but we are doing our best. At the current moment we cannot pronounce ourselves yet."

"So what will happen now?" Blane asked.

"He is being taken to his room. We will see how his state evolves tomorrow, but I fear we might need to perform another operation."

"I understand. Can we at least see him?"

"Yes, you may go to his room."

"Thanks, doc."

And so the trio turned around and walked into the hospital's corridor, searching for the room in which their friend had been taken. Once they found him, they were greeted by the heartbreaking image of a once great hero who now lied on a bed with tubes and wires attached to him, his limbs bandages, his bare chest still exposing the X scar he received from Genji Double Cross, his mouth barely breathing thanks to an air supplier and his eyes closed, taking him far away into the land of dreams.

"Tiger…" Tamma murmured with sorrow.

"Ah think you've seen enough, little fella." Rita intervened. "How about Ah take you home?"

"But…"

"No buts, Tamma. It's better if you left. Plus, it's way past your bed time." Blane supported the cowgirl.

"Aw, fine." the eleven year old crossed his arms and complied in the end.

Once he found himself alone, Blane proceeded inside the room where his friend was resting. Its white walls were shining due to the bright room that the blue neon lights were emanating from the ceiling. Two blue flowerpots lying at the window were trying to cheer up the atmosphere with their purple, red and green flowers. At the left and right of Tiger's bed were the machines that kept him alive. Beeps that represented his heartbeats were killing the deadly silence of the room. Blane looked at the blonde with sadness in his eyes and could not help but feel guilty.

"If only I had thought more about Roger's words… I probably could've done something to stop him from doing this." Blane spoke and grabbed his friend's hand. "I'm sorry. I failed you."

Suddenly, a few voices played in his head.

_"I end my turn." Roger passed._

_"What?!" Yuu exclaimed._

_"Mister Roger Thornton is refusing to give the final attack?" Atsuto added._

"He did not finish him then." Blane recalled and then he remembered what his opponent had in the battle zone. "Oh no, he didn't..."

_"Defeating my right hand man was the worst thing you could have done. Now witness how your friend falls to my hands. And let this be a warning to those who dare to rise against me!"_

Blane clenched both his fists in anger and then the right one collided with the room's wall, causing one of the paintings that depicted a flower field fall on the floor and break beneath his feet.

"Codeking Mozart… his strongest creature… he did it on purpose!" Blane growled and then he looked at the window, but he did not see the rain that was falling upon the city, but the face of Roger, smiling at him with arrogance after what he had done. "You monster… I'll find you and I'll make you pay!"

Then something fell from his pants. The sound of a small object colliding with the cold floor woke him to reality. When he looked down, Blane saw a small purple token with the Darkness civilization symbol. He leaned to grab it and as he stared at it, he spoke in a calmer manner than before:

"Or maybe… there's another way… I wonder what you would do in my place, bro."

Returning to the duel from the mushroom valley, it was the samurai's turn. He drew a card - Dreaming Moon Knife - that he placed in his mana zone as his sixth card. Afterwards he tapped his only creature card left in the battle zone and said:

"Gaial Kaiser, double break his shields!"

"I block it with Maxval." Subaru spoke as his Liquid People and Grand Devil hybrid stood in the Dragon's way and got sliced to pieces. "And now I guess that it's my move. I cast Energy Stream and draw two cards. Gravity Zero, I summon not one, but two Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight."

Two ghost knights riding on cloud unicorns and both wielding sharp spears appeared by their black haired master's side, ready to defend him when necessary.

"You're starting to put up a fight, I like that." the samurai noticed. "My turn, I summon Evolution Totem and by its effect I search my deck and take Cosmo Cebu Lambda, the Super-Electromagnetic to my hand!"

A wooden totem with a white beard and mustache, shining red eyes, a dark brown wizard hat on its head and a dark brown cape on its back, and with a wooden staff in its right hand appeared by the samurai's side and caused a Water evolution creature card known as Cosmo Cebu Lambda to come out of his deck and go into his hand.

"Then I double break your shields with Gaial Kaiser, ike!" the samurai gave another attacking order.

"Block it, Bloody Shadow." Subaru countered and one of the ghostly knights stood in the way of the Dragon and got pierced by its flaming swords, meeting its end in an explosion.

Now that things had calmed down, the samurai waited for his opponent's turn. But this time Subaru did not make a move in the game. Instead he looked at the warrior in the eye with a look of concern in the deep pools of brown from his own eyes. For a moment the samurai was scared by them, not knowing what to expect.

"Yoo hoo, Subaru, it's your turn." he tried to make that awkward moment to end.

"Do you mind if I asked you something?" Subaru brought up.

"Sure, but be quick."

"I will. Thanks." the black haired male nodded gratefully. "I just wanted to know… does it still hurt?"

"Hurt? What are you talking about?"

"Now that I sit here and I reflect upon it better, I realize all the pain you must have gone through. You were far away, in a place and time where you were nothing more than a stranger. And then you watched your new friends die in front of you one by one. It must have been terrible."

"And just what do you know?!" a frustrated samurai replied. "Why do you even give a damn? Back then when you Dorballomed me you surely didn't give a fuck about me."

"That's because I did not know who you were. And I admit that it was not the best option, regardless of whom I was facing. But now I know exactly what's going on here."

"You don't know anything, Subaru Geki. Stop pretending that you do."

"All that I know is that my friend is somewhere behind that mask. And I won't stop at anything to get him back!"

With those words being said, four out of six mana cards tapped in his mana zone and he showed a multicolored spell belonging to the Water and Darkness civilizations.

"I cast Hide and Seek!" Subaru exclaimed and then a blue water hand grabbed Gaial Kaiser and made him disappear back to the hyperspatial zone, then a purple cloud hand grabbed the Cosmo Cebu Lambda card from the samurai's hand and tossed it his graveyard.

"Tsh, nice one…" the red haired duelist replied. "In that case, I summon Hot Spring Crimson Meow and draw a card. Then I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe."

A red and blue cat appeared alongside a green horse like warrior wielding a fork.

"Evolution Totem, break his shield!" the samurai ordered.

"Block the attack, Bloody Shadow." Subaru intervened and the two creatures battled, both disappearing in an explosion.

Once the smoke cleared, silence fell upon the battlefield. The samurai impatiently stomped with his foot, waiting for his opponent to make a move. The darkness duelist drew a card which he then placed into his mana zone, after which he looked at his opponent once again and seemed to slip away into the world of his thoughts yet again.

"Pain…" he finally mumbled something.

"Huh?" the masked duelist reacted.

"It comes in so many forms and the only way we recognize it is when it tortures us." Subaru commented and then he asked his opponent with concern. "Just what exactly happened to you?"

"You're really interested in knowing? You honestly want to know what I've been through?" the samurai asked and received a nod as an answer which caused him to sigh. "Fine then…"

In the next moment the golden mask fell off his face on the table, revealing a saddened Rad. He cleared his throat and began to speak, not looking in the eye the one listening to him at least once.

"After Gallows Hellish Dragon attacked me, all went black. When I woke up, I was being carried in a forest by an old man and a guy around my age. Both were dressed in old Japanese kimonos. I didn't remember much of what happened before. I just knew my name, how to speak in English and how to duel. It took me some time to learn how to speak old Japanese, I admit, but even then it was pretty hard to reproduce the words with my own mouth. The younger guy who rescued me was named Koji and he was a samurai serving under the Genji clan. He was nice enough to show me the places around and explain what was going on. I was happy when I learned that he was a duelist because that meant I had someone to play with. Even more, the old man, Masato-sensei, was living in a Duel Masters temple. You see, back then the game was only played by a few privileged who were initiated to the arts of the kaijudo in secret temples. Obviously when they saw my deck, they were amazed. Heh, they never heard of psychic creatures, so it took me some time to teach them how they worked. Sadly, after I healed, the master told me that if I wanted to stay at the temple, I had to work for a living and bring money. Back then there were no rocket races, unfortunately, so I joined Koji and became a samurai working for the Genji. Then… it began… the long days of training that I thought would never end. The men who were preparing us were not messing around. Either you were fit to battle, or you were going to be left to rot on the battlefield. And you probably guessed how prepared I was. My only luck was that I could run fast and avoid most attacks, but I simply couldn't wield a sword well! At first it was too heavy, then I was too slow when attacking with it, there were always problems. As for one-on-one combat, you can bet I got my ass kicked many times. I was simply not made for this! But they didn't want to understand, they didn't even care. Most of them would just kick me even when I was on the ground and treat me like a worthless worm. Besides Koji, everyone else shunned me, even the instructors. Do you know how it feels like to be left alone by the others in the rain with kicks in your stomach, bruises over your face and aching muscles? Do you know how it is to crawl in the mud and lose all your strength and hope? Probably not, but hey, I don't blame you. I wouldn't wish you such a fate. I can tell you this, I tried my best, but it was simply never enough. Whatever I did, I would always be overpowered and not deemed worthy. But it was only worse when I would look into Koji's eyes and see how he forced himself to pretend that he was agreeing with all the others. Deep inside he saw something in me, I'll probably never know what it is, that he cheered me on to become a samurai. Then the day came when we had to each prove our swordsman skills in duels with a certain partner. I don't know how, but Koji ended up being the one I would face. And so we fought… it was a hard fight, but somehow my instincts made me both jump away to avoid some of his attacks and even trip him at the end. That trip was what caused my victory. But I'm more than sure that he could've just jumped to avoid my trip. He must've lost on purpose so that I would pass. Luckily he was already pretty high in their ranks, so it was not that much of a loss for him. However, more problems came once I became a full time samurai in the Genji. I was being sent on missions, I was battling rookie samurais from the opposing clan, the Heike, and worst of them all, the training got harder. The trainers pushed me even harder than before and sometimes I would end up fainting on the field after a fist or sword fight. Of course, the eternal insults and mocks would follow, but by that time I was getting used to them. And at the end of the day I would bring the old man some money that I was earning from my job. Whatever I was gaining from that hell of a business, I wouldn't keep it. I didn't want a reminder of all that suffering. Some said it was my reward, but I never thought that. Whenever I would look at those coins, I could think of nothing but hits, insults, pain. The only good thing in this whole ordeal was that I could at least stay at the temple with the master and Koji. But they knew I was miserable. The master did nothing in that sense except for discussing with me Duel Masters related topics. Koji tried much more. Besides dueling me, he also took me on trips to hot springs and fun fairs, as well as showing me his home. His family was modest but pretty accepting. Same was with his girlfriend… I mean promised wife. I trust you know that back then they would just promise their girls since they were young of age in arranged marriage. She did show more concern than the rest of his family. She would visit us at our trainings and bring us food. Whenever she heard that I was hurt, she would bring Koji some bandages for me. Honestly, if it weren't for them, I probably would've stabbed my stomach out a long time ago. Soon the expected questions came. They asked me where was I from, how did I get there and so on. But I couldn't remember anything. But soon images of you guys would appear in my dreams and haunt me. I was getting hints of who I truly was. I couldn't make them out until you and the Doctor came, so most of the time I tried to shrug them off. And then… that fateful day came. Tabitha returned and informed the Heike about an assault that the Genji were preparing. My clan was slaughtered and my only friend was killed beneath my eyes. All thanks to that fucking witch. Koji told me to live my life, but that was not the case. I had been a coward most of my life. I had run away all the time, including when the Genji were destroyed. But then I decided… that I would run away no more. Not until Tabitha had been brought to justice. It was no longer a matter of personal business, now it was a matter of honor. The blood of the slaughtered ones is crying for revenge and it's my job to make her pay for what she did to Koji and the others. But for that I had to be cautious, that's why I hid myself under a mask, so that none of you guys knew who I truly was. That way I would avoid questions from you and the gang, and more important, Tabitha wouldn't know who I was so that she could exploit my weaknesses. So I came back to my time with the help of the Doctor and I began my quest. The rest… is history."

Subaru had listened to Rad's story, sympathetic tears forming into his eyes. Once the narration was over, all he could do was stare at the red haired boy in front of him. Inside him there was a struggle, for he was admiring the former racer for having the courage to come out and tell his tale, he was also feeling sorry for the whole hell his friend had gone through, but the most predominant was his anger towards all those that caused all this suffering to Rad. Now all he wished was that he could go back in time and make the samurais of the Genji pay, as well as search himself for Tabitha so that he could do what his friend wanted to do.

"I… I… never thought…" Subaru tried to formulate a sentence but failed.

He rubbed his forehead and then he found the strength to speak:

"Thank you, Rad-kun, for having enough trust to share with me your story. I feel honored."

"Now I ask you… have you felt pain the way I have?" the fire duelist asked back while covering his face with the golden mask yet again.

"Yes, I have also suffered, but my kind of suffering was different from what you have experienced. Still, you didn't deserve any of that, not for one second." Subaru continued, his voice starting to hiccup from his cries, all while looking at the one in front of him whose eyes were perfectly dry even after looking back into that past filled with pain.

"Anyway, the time for chats is over. Now do your turn!"

"But Rad-kun, it doesn't have to…"

"Rad has died a long time ago, now will you stop wasting our time and do your next move already?!"

Seeing that his opponent was once again violent with him, Subaru sighed and a purple aura surrounded his right hand. He selected a card which he then showed to his opponent and said:

"If that's how you want it to be, then alright, I summon Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger!"

A dark blue bipedal lion demon wielding two sharp blue swords and having a blue mane decorate its head along with two orange horns that were positioned as a V sign appeared in the battle zone and slashed both Hot Spring Crimson Meow and Bronze-Arm Tribe, killing them. Now the samurai was left without any creatures.

"Subaru-sama, you finally found out." Raion noted.

"Yes, yes I did." the black haired nodded.

"I hate to say it, but I've told you so."

"Later, Raion, we've got a duel on our hands now."

"I summon Evolution Totem!" the samurai said and once the wooden totem reappeared, yet another Cosmo Cebu Lambda, the Super Electromagnetic found its way out of his deck and into his hand. "I end my turn."

Meanwhile inside the island's volcano, at the fallen castle's throne room with blue crystal walls, Tabitha was arranging a large table while Empress Luna was bringing dishes of all kinds, ranging from French culinary to the cheapest American fast foods. The witch was lighting candles with a simple stare and was bringing forth shiny clean plates made of the most precious Chinese porcelain. The spoons, forks and knives were from the most refined European restaurants. Everything had to be impeccable for the arrival of the guest. Suddenly they heard metallic noise.

"What was that?" Luna asked.

"It seems that he has arrived." Tabitha grinned.

In the next moment the TARDIS popped out of nowhere and both the Doctor and Leona walked out. The tall brown haired man whistled upon seeing what was around him.

"Now this looks like a nice place for a villain to hide."

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Tabitha spoke as she made steps towards him. "Hello, Doctor, and welcome to my humble castle!"

"I wouldn't want to see your definition of luxury…" the Doctor remarked. "Anyway, it seems that you villains are starting to have taste when it comes down to hideouts. Though I'm not a huge fan of blue, you could try to make the crystal walls get a nice shade of green. Yes, that would be nice. Also, that throne of yours looks rather outdated. You should see some fine examples in the galaxy of…"

"Doctor!" the witch interrupted him. "Is this any way to treat your hosts?"

"Oh yes, my apologies, miss Lenox. I forgot that it's because of your invitation that I am now here." the man rushed at her and grabbed her right hand, kissing it and making her blush. "It's an honor being here."

"I am glad you think that. In that case, I will send the girls away so that we can mind our own business in private."

"As you wish."

In the next moment both Leona and Luna rushed out the room's doors and thus the duo remained alone. Tabitha invited the Doctor to take a seat and so he did, lying at the left of the table's head. Then the witch took a seat at the head of the table and grabbed her typical glass of wine, but this time she took just one small and discrete sip.

"I do hope you don't mind having dinner with me."

"Oh not at all, miss Lenox. I think it will be an interesting experience."

"So do I, Doctor. And by the way, you can call me Tabitha."

Back at the duel between Subaru and the samurai, the darkness duelist's turn had come.

"I summon Jenny, the Dismantling Doll."

A white haired red eyed doll dressed in a dark red dress and wielding a large razor blade appeared by Subaru's side and waved its weapon, causing his opponent to discard Cosmo Cebu Lambda. The samurai growled in anger. It was the second time he had discarded his precious trump card. Subaru did not want to let him have cards in his hand and thus he was rendered dependant on his top deck draws, which were not really reliable. But when he drew, it seemed as if his luck finally returned.

"I cast Hyperspatial Shooting Hole and put Gaial Kaiser in the battle zone!" the samurai said and the red armored dragon wielding two yellow flaming swords reappeared in the battle zone. "Go, Gaial Kaiser and Evolution Totem, break all of his shields!"

In the next moment Subaru's last three shields were gone and he was rendered defenseless in front of his opponent. With that the samurai ended his turn.

"There, you have no more shields left, next turn you're going down. At long last I'll prove that I'm ready to avenge them." the red haired warrior stated.

"Vengeance… Is this really what you want?" Subaru asked with honesty dripping out of his mouth. "After all that you've been through, are you really going to put yourself through even more hell just to avenge some people you barely knew?"

"Don't you question my motives!" the samurai shouted at him.

"Oh no, I'll question them as long as they keep you on the wrong path!" Subaru shouted back. "Don't you see that all that you're doing is putting you through even more pain? Do you really want so badly to hurt yourself?"

"That doesn't matter. What matters is the blood that was…"

"Screw the blood! Screw what happened back then! Screw it all!"

"What are you…"

"Don't you see that this isn't about the past? What truly matters now is you! Stop caring about what has long passed away. For goodness' sake, start caring about yourself a little more, Rad!"

"How many times do I have to tell you? Rad is…"

"As alive as I am! He was never dead! That gravestone back at the cemetery is nothing now. You are here both body and spirit. So stop lying to yourself that you are dead!"

"You're wrong… the moment Gallows Hellish Dragon opened its mouths and spat its deadly fires upon me, Rad Flames has been dead. I am nothing but a shadow condemned to wander time and space until vengeance is complete. Then, when all is over, I'll join the others."

"You can't be serious. After all this is over, you're just going to commit suicide?"

"Yes, then I can truly rest in peace along with my comrades."

A new set of tears were now swelling down the pale cheeks of the black haired boy.

"Who are you? Who are you and what have you done to the Rad I knew?" Subaru wept.

"I just told you. I'm not going to repeat myself once more. Now stop whining like a little bitch and do your turn!" the samurai coldly demanded.

"Rad, listen to me, with just one move, no, with just one card, I will turn this whole game in my favor. Please, don't make me do it. I don't want it to end like this."

"Just do your turn already, or else I'll be sure to have Gaial Kaiser slice you up like the annoying little shit that you are!"

"You left me with no other choice…"

Subaru reached his right arm to his face and wiped his tears away. Then he took a deep breath and drew his next card which he placed in his mana zone. Afterwards six cards tapped themselves and he showed a Darkness spell to his opponent and said:

"I cast… Hyperspatial Raiden Hole! By its effect I put Volg Thunder in the battle zone!"

A winged red armored demonic wolf wielding a blue sword appeared in the battle zone and roared at the samurai, causing the top cards of his deck fall into his graveyard one by one, those being Faerie Gift, Bolbalzak Ex, Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole, Intense Vacuuming Twist and Aqua Surfer. Afterwards Jenny exploded and her place was taken by a small golden armored demon with two skulls and an angelic head between them.

"Then with Raiden Hole's second effect I sacrifice Jenny and replace her with Cheval, Temporal Demon Spirit." Subaru continued.

"Heh, you filled your battle zone with strong Demon Commands. But still, just Liger Blade can attack, while I have one more attacker to finish you off next turn. That wasn't impressive at all." the samurai dismissed.

"I wouldn't rush yet if I were you." the darkness duelist warned and showed the final card from his hand. "I still have this strong baby left."

"What? But you only have three mana left, what else can you bring out?" the confused fire duelist asked.

At the hotel, June had fallen asleep next to Ren's bed while Campo had fallen asleep on the couch. Roger was still playing the piano when the elevator's doors opened and Jessica walked in with a triumphant look on her face.

"What is it, Jessica?" the pianist asked coldly without looking at her.

"Victory, boss!" the girl replied and gently placed the cards of Wedding, Zenith of "Celebration" and Suspense, Zenith of "Curse" on his piano. "I managed to snatch these from an unsuspecting kid. Told the sucker that there was a free lollipop waiting for him on his dueling table and then I snatched the two Zeniths from his deck when he checked to see if it was true. That was way too easy."

"Heh, like stealing candy from a baby." Roger ironically replied. "Still, you did an excellent job, congratulations."

"I would never let you down, master."

"No, you better not."

With those words being said, Roger returned to playing his piano and Jessica yawned and went to bed. That day had been a productive one for his team.

"You're curious as to what I will bring out next? Be no more!" Subaru said and then he revealed the card to his opponent. "Gravity Zero, I summon Dulanzames, Jet-Black War Demon!"

"Crap, he has three Demon Commands…" the shocked samurai uttered the Gravity Zero requirement of Dulanzames.

"I now summon Dulanzames, Jet-Black War Demon for free!" the darkness duelist said and a horned demon with golden shoulder pads, a blue axe in its right hand, a sharp yellow sword in its left hand and three shining blue heads at the lower side of his body appeared in the battle zone and roared loudly. "Then I activate Dulanzames' effect and return all the creatures from my graveyard to my hand!"

One by one, Jenny, the Suicide Doll, Maxval, Electro-Fuuma, Jenny, the Dismantling Doll and both Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight all returned into Subaru's hand.

"Then since I cast a spell this turn, Gravity Zero, I summon two Bloody Shadows!" Subaru continued and the two ghostly knights riding cloud unicorns reappeared. "Afterwards I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma."

"Shit, the blockers are back…" the samurai uttered.

"I end my turn and since I have two or more Demon Commands with cost 6 or more, I awaken Cheuxvelt, the Awakened Demon Spirit."

The samurai backed down and analyzed the situation better in his mind.

"He has three double breakers and one triple breaker. Also that Cheuxvelt will give him a new shield each time I get a creature out. Then there are those three pesky blockers. I only have two attackers. I can just hope I'll get a hyperspatial spell to clean a few of them."

Unfortunately for him, that was not the case. However, what he had drawn could still be used.

"I'm not done with you yet! I summon Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon!" the samurai said and then the red dragon with blonde mane, samurai gear and two cross shaped swords appeared in the battle zone and Cheuxvelt granted Subaru a new shield.

"Wow, master, the situation looks pretty awful for you." Genji commented upon seeing the mighty army of demons.

"Shut up and do your work!" the red haired duelist toughly spoke. "Genji Double Cross, destroy Bloody Shadow and break his final shield!"

Much to his surprise, Subaru did not block Genji's attack and let his last shield get broken. But he did not stop to think, he had to finish him quickly.

"Evolution Totem, todomeda!"

"I block with Bloody Shadow!"

"Gaial Kaiser, todomeda!"

"I block with Maxval!"

Three of the four cards fell into their owners' graveyards, Gaial Kaiser surviving his battle. The samurai calmed down and took deep breaths after the stress that represented his recent turn.

"Now if I get any shield triggers, I'll be saved and you're toast!" he affirmed.

Suddenly a strange wave of darkness came from Subaru's table and hit him, causing chills to spread down his body. A familiar feeling of fear was slowly growing inside him, making him realize that something was wrong. When he looked again at Subaru, he saw his opponent in tears once again. But he also took notice that one of the cards from his hand was shining with a bright purple aura and was probably the cause of the wave of darkness coming. Looking at his creatures, he saw that both Genji and Gaial Kaiser were trembling with fear.

"Rad, there's still time, please reconsider…" Subaru wept.

"What are you talking about?" the samurai asked.

"Give up your vengeance and return to the friend I once knew. I don't want to lose you!"

"Tsh, never. I chose my path and nothing you can do will change it."

"I'm sorry… believe me, I'm so sorry…"

Before the samurai could react, he saw that three purple beams came out of Liger Blade's mouth and eyes. The blue lion's body cracked open and a pair of red wings flapped, making their feathers spread around. Six golden tentacles spread around and then the whole body of a white goat demon materialized in the battle zone. The red haired duelist gasped and made a step back while watching in horror how the creature emerged.

"I evolve Liger Blade into Dorballom, Lord of Demons!" Subaru said. "When Dorballom enters the battle zone, both our non-Darkness creatures and mana are destroyed."

The Cebu Aquman Jr and Energy Stream cards from Subaru's mana zone went into his graveyard while his opponent had lost all of his creatures and mana cards.

"I don't believe it… I lost them all… again…" the samurai uttered.

"When you devote your whole life to revenge, you put everything you have at risk. And when you do that, you can lose it all." Subaru held his short speech and then he resumed the duel. "Dulanzames, attack, triple break his shields! Then, Cheuxvelt, break his final shields!"

In a few swoop seconds the two demons took down all of the samurai's shields, and to his disappointment, he received no shield triggers. Now there he was, with no creatures, no mana, no shields and nothing to defend himself.

"You lost everything in this game and the same will happen if you choose to remain on this path lighted by the flames of vengeance." Subaru continued and made the samurai grow even more terrified. "In the end all that you'll get is the eternal void, nothing but darkness in which you will forever torment yourself with all this hatred and sorrow."

"No… no…" he barely spoke while trembling at the sight of Dorballom's piercing stare.

"You chose this path and now you pay! Dorballom, todomeda!"

With one cry of fear, the samurai went down, being blown away by the blast of the mighty demon. Thus the duel was over. Subaru packed both their decks and went down the hill to the river's shore next to which his fellow human landed. Once there, he took a good look at the wounded one and then he leaned down and pulled off his mask. Rad's eyes were closed and his face betrayed an expression of sadness. Streams of salty eye liquid fell on his cheeks coming from the one that defeated him.

"Oh Rad, I'm so sorry. You didn't deserve this; it was their fault for having turned you into this monster." Subaru wept and then he pulled the unconscious one into a strong hug. "Please forgive me, I never meant to hurt you."

The sun moved at its zenith, announcing the arrival of lunch time on the island, its rays shining upon the two that stood in the mushroom valley. Subaru may have won the duel, but he had failed in bringing his friend back, so he did not have a true victory.

* * *

_Subaru (dropping the card): I don't know…_

* * *

_[In the next chapter]:_

_The Doctor and Tabitha continue with their dinner until the arguments get heated. This prompts the witch to challenge him to a duel, both having updated their decks. Will the Doctor be able to defeat her this time and save the day? Or will the wielder of the wicked Zeta-File once again prevail?_


End file.
